5.8.13

I couldn’t let such a great date pass without a post giving a nod to the wonder of the Fibonacci sequence which is the mathematical make-up seen throughout nature.

The spiral found in shells, ram’s horns and the cochlea in our ears;
Roses, sunflowers and the scales of the pineapple;
Arrangements of stems, leaves and petals.

Fibonacci, of Pisa Italy, wrote about the number sequence 0,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,89… (each number is the sum of the two previous numbers) in his book Liber Abbaci in 1202 after studying the Hindu-Arabic number system with its use of the 10 digit numbering system rather than the Roman Numeral method which had been used for centuries.

The sequence is closely related to the Golden Ratio also know as the Greek Phi.

Several years ago I read a blog post by a woman who’d painstakingly dyed and spun small bits of wool in order to weave a tapestry with all the intricate shadings of a ram’s horn. The picture of her finished tapestry was stunning in its accuracy and beauty.  It’s a shame I can’t find that post, or even remember who the amazing fiber artist is. If anyone who reads this knows please give a shout-out so I can properly acknowledge her. Her post and seeing the meticulous work she did just to achieve that one tapestry left a deep impression.

Seeing how this Golden Ratio, Sphere, Spiral turn up everywhere in nature throughout the seas, land, the heavens, even our human bodies, I can’t help but marvel at our Creator who designed and spoke it all into being.

***

When last I posted I’d planned to write within the following week but some extra, unexpected work demands came in that needed immediate attention, suddenly work soared to a busier level than anticipated and once again work took most of my energy. Last Friday I woke up with a sore throat which quickly grew into a raging cold that I’m still trying to shake. I’ve still be working but with very slow motion and by evening I’ve been too tired to try to engage my brain at the computer. I’m hoping to mail out the last of the spindles that were bought last week tomorrow so I can fully rest for a couple days and kick this bug.  It’s been very discouraging to be sick again. I suspect the stress of the previous two week with  didn’t help. It’s time to turn off the computer and get some sleep but I’ll be back within a few days with that finished project I mentioned last time.

 

Lit’l Red

The Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival in Hood River was good fun. Met lots of people, talked with people who are beginning to feel like old friends. I’m chagrined that names are so elusive in my memory. These smaller venues are more laid-back and relaxing, providing a bit more time to chat. But there’s still the need to always try to be “on” which an introvert is exhausting.

We pulled our Little Red T@B, in Ed’s little 4 cylinder Toyota pickup. The poor truck put in a valiant effort in pulling the rig up the hills leading to the county park where we set up camp.

We practically stumbled on Lit’l Red in January when we set out to find some sort of camping unit to use at shows. It was waiting for us at the very second RV place we visited.
The T@B is European but much more reasonable than the more common Teardrop. Even better, having been pre-owned it was a great price. Except we definitely need to find a bigger rig to pull it. We’re at the point where we want to have one vehicle instead of two so we’ll be on the lookout for a decent 6 cylinder rig that’s big enough for our needs but not a huge gas hog.

When we pulled into the campground early Friday afternoon not another soul was in sight. Finding a space with an electrical box we set up camp. Only to find the electricity was still disconnected from the winter season – even though the park ranger had assured me there would be power when I called at the beginning of April.

By the time we returned Friday evening, after the first couple hours of open market, there was a pickup camper and a group of high schoolers in a ring of tents near their bus with two huge rafts tied on top. They were finishing up a week of river rafting with their teacher/mentor. Without electricity we turned in by 8pm both nights and sweetly slept in our little unit alongside the rushing river.

There’s much I wanted to write but I’m still very tired from the weekend. We’ll be moving at a somewhat slower pace this week. I spent a glorious hour weeding around the blueberry bushes and doing a bit of work getting the ground ready to garden. Ed built and planted an asparagus bed this afternoon. We’d like to plant as much as the early produce this week.
Please stay tuned for pictures of a finished product that I designed that I hope to eventually write out, update on progress with spinning on the Great Wheel, the different fiber I’ve been spinning on it, and my newest acquisition – thanks to Ed who insisted I needed one.

 

Storms and peaceful interludes

Wind is whipping and howling against the house, driving the rain hard against the windows. Gusts are forecast to top 65mph. The south ridge often protects us from hard winds but tonight the wind races down the basin leading southeastward up into the Cascade mountains. A pause then an onslaught from the southwest.

The weatherman said that swirling winds cause the most damage. He mentioned that many people were in the stores stocking up on flashlights, food and water for the almost certainty of losing electricity tonight.

Seriously, except for situations where someone’s been ill or away from home an extended time, lives in a dorm, etc, who doesn’t have at least a few days’ supply of food and water on hand that they should need to dash to the store as the outskirts of a storm begin to strike?

For my part, if our house plunges into darkness, I’ll pick up the flashlight next to my chair and head for bed. I’m tired enough to sleep for a good 10 hours. (Ha, I haven’t soundly slept a night through in ages. More than likely I’ll spend some time listening to the wind rocking the house.)

After an exhausting weekend I’m looking forward to climbing between the sheets. Climb. Literally. Ed built our bed frame high enough to store boxes under, which given our lack of storage space is a good thing. Rather, it was until the old mattress wore out and we bought one that would be helpful for Ed’s back. That thing is Mt Everest thick! I’m short. I practically need to execute a high jump maneuver to get on top of the bed. Great for putting little Violet down for her naps and no bending over to left her chunky little body.

Back to the weekend…
Friday’s tragic news was hard to comprehend, hard to bear. Hard to move forward from. I was thankful for a packed day that provided mind-numbing action. Creekside Strings met late afternoon for our routine every other week practice, a crucial one that we couldn’t postpone as we’re scheduled to play at a retirement home next Friday. We gathered solemnly expressing that it felt hard to even want to play music at such a time. Especially hard hit was the music teacher of the local middle school. But play we did. As the 90 minutes came to a close he expressed how helpful playing music together had been.

I had wondered how our little church would be able to have the acoustic Christmas music evening that was planned for the 15th. How could we sing and play cheerful, hopeful music in the midst of overwhelming sadness? Driving back home from practice Friday evening, along the quiet, dark gravel road leading over the ridge I thought of those little children (Oh! The little children. My heart bleeds.) and suddenly I knew without a shadow of doubt that they wouldn’t want others not to go on with their lives, to celebrate Christmas.

I could envision little chins quivering, eyes filling with tears at being told that “we’re too sad, we can’t sing the songs, we can’t play the tunes that I know you love. It doesn’t matter that you were looking forward to lots of yummy finger foods and hot chocolate. This is a sad time.”  The now is everything to a child, treasured events eagerly anticipated. We must hold out hope to them. Hope, steadfast courage and faith that we will get through these sad times.

Saturday morning I baked Christmas breads for friends, wound up a skein of handspun that I’d finished and washed the day before, and wrapped it in a box then went to an early lunch to celebrate a friend’s birthday.
Early afternoon Ed & I joined our in-law’s 50th wedding anniversary party held at the vineyard where our daughter and their son were married. It was the second huge anniversary gathering two weeks apart each with a couple hundred guests mingling. These huge celebrations of family, friends and neighbors really brings home the advantage and continuity of living an entire life in one small community! Having moved so much as children both Ed and I were never able to first hand experience what it means to sink deep roots.
(Always surrounded by family and friends, I had a hard time getting a clear shot of the couple. There’s no doubt these two are still very much in love fifty years, seven children and twenty grandchildren later.)

Ed and I parted ways for a couple hours, he off to a Christmas party for the the weekly workers at the community supper, I to gather all my gear and head up to the church to get ready for the evening of music.
Music stands, mics and chairs in place we’re ready to make a joyful noise in honor of the birth of our Saviour, God stepping down into this dark world, that we might know the reality of His everlasting love, even in the middle of anguishing hard times when there are no pat answers. Apparently many who came also felt the need to turn their minds and hearts to Christmas as they kept requesting songs for four hours, until voices and fingers were too weary to continue.
A quiet calm, the absence of wind and rain lashing at the house prevailed throughout much of the writing of this post.  The respite is over, the wind and rains are back and increasing in strength. It is a good time to go to bed.

 

Life encapsulated

Oh the irony. Just as the last picture was loading on a very long post late last night, the internet connection was lost, not to be restored, so I went to bed. Can’t turn back the clock so the title is changed from the oh so entrancing 12.12.12. But the worst is that the normally faithful WordPress draft saver was also on the blink and only the first two paragraphs were saved. The first was now irrelevant.

Thanksgiving seems like it was eons ago. We had a good time with lots of family and lots of food. Hanging out with the grandkids once again was the bonus. Some knitting was accomplished but since I’m the only knitter of the bunch and with three little children around, especially two who like sliding down the carpeted stairs on grammie’s lap as well as having books read to them, finding moments to sit still with needles and yarn in hand were few and far in between.

Our neighbor had her baby daughter on the 25th. Little Mina gets to share her birthday with her grandfather. She’s a cutie and seems to be a content baby. No picture yet of her with the little hat I made, maybe next time – I’d love to see how it looks on her.

Squeezed in between watching Violet Tuesdays and Thursdays, trying to stay on top of orders – especially those destined for gifts (I think we’ll have the last of them in the mail by Tuesday) spinning yarn for a gift and knitting I’ve tried to dedicate enough time to music practice.

Part of our Scotts Mills Friends/Crooked Finger group played Christmas songs for the Community Christmas tree lighting, the next day we went to the funeral mass for the mother of our banjo player, the following day we played for a 60th wedding anniversary party, which was a blast. The couple have lived in the community their entire lives and are a huge part of getting things done.

Next up is the Christmas Sing-Along with a slight bluegrass flavor and over 60 songs for the people to chose from. If you’re in the area Saturday evening the 15th please stop in at the Scotts Mills Friends Church where there will be finger foods, hot drinks and lots of music. People are welcome to come and go as they need and everyone seems to enjoy this tradition which will be the 11th or 12th year.

Remember the Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ) I had to frog after finishing about 3/4th of it and realizing it was too small. I managed to get about half of the new one knitted, on size 4mm needles this time, when my attention was drawn to the Spirograph Headband/hat and suddenly needed to make one for my very active daughter-in-law who has thick, long red hair. I knew exactly what yarn to use: Two years before she’d gifted me with the lovely skein of camel colored Austermann Natura. There was only 100 meters which I hoped would be plenty. Half way through it looked dicey so modifications were in order. I’d not been crazy about the way the hat pooched in the back so I started the decrease rounds seven rounds early and added extra decrease rounds before the final k1p1 band rounds. Her best friend modeled it for me before our Christmas sing-along practice on Sunday.

Picking up Violet last Thursday I was struck by how big she’s getting and had an “oh no!” moment realizing the BSJ might once again be too small. By the time she arrived Tuesday I was onto the hood and so tried it on her for size.

A bit on the small size so yesterday I picked up stitches along the left front edge and knit several ridges for a button band. More length needs to added to the sleeves and sew on the buttons, give it a bath and it will be ready for wearing.

Life is full, we feel very thankful and blessed. Blessings on all for contentment and joy during this oft too crazy season!

 

Crochet and Autumn Colors

A knock at the door a week ago Wednesday; a neighbor girl handing me an invitation to her mother’s baby shower happening Sunday afternoon. Stash diving brought up the remaining ball of  handspun Picperfic Twinkle left from knitting Aurora’s Kensington Wristwarmers (Jane Austen Knits). Twinkle  (70% superwash Merino 30% Trilobal Nylon) has been such a joy to spin, knit and now crochet. The deep raspberry colors set off by the sparkle of the nylon shout  jubilation.Casting on for another Norweigan Baby cap – the tried and true fast baby gift, I blissfully knit the first seven rows. Oh no! Those rows were supposed to alternate between knit and purl for a more elastic edge. I went to bed.

While ravelling the knitted rows the next morning I remembered how quickly the Crochet Beret I’d made for Feather had worked up so switched tools to crochet a wee hat for the new baby girl. Three days to crochet a baby hat in an otherwise busy schedule? Piece of cake. But, which pattern?

I love the look of Lene’s Pikku-Lilli and enjoyed knitting it for a friend’s granddaughter in September so decided to crochet something along those lines, except without the piping and starting at the back of the head then working forward. It was a quick little project that turned out great. I even managed to write down the steps before wrapping it in tissue with the idea of crocheting a couple more and making the pattern available. When the little one is born I hope to get a decent picture of her modeling the hat. She’s due within the next couple of weeks. I encountered mommy, daddy and two young daughters last night out for a walk. She was having a few contractions though nothing serious or regular. Mostly she was craving a peppermint latte. I think she caved. It wasn’t long before they were driving away in their van, returning about half an hour later.

Until then, here’s a sneak preview.

Immediately after the baby shower Sunday afternoon I headed up Crooked Finger Road to practice for an upcoming 60th anniversary. The slanting sunshine shimmered on this tree next to my friend’s house. Burgundy colors surprisingly similar to the deeper raspberry of the baby hat.
When Aurora came to pick up Violet Tuesday afternoon she causally mentioned that Haymaker would love a hat for his birthday coming up the following Friday. No time to dither over what to make or what yarn to use! The perfect fiber was in my stash. Almost half of it was knitting into a partial gigantic sock knit directly from the roving using #19 / 15.75mm needles. Diving into the fiber stash for the sock and the remainder of the 8oz hank of pencil roving I pulled it into the light of day and gently dismantled the sock into a squiggly heap of pencil roving.

The roving was skeined then gently placed into warm water to help erase the memory of the knitted kinks. Using my hands I pressed out as much water as possible then rolled it up in a thick bath towel and stepped on it several times. After that I stood on the back porch and whirled the skein round my arm encouraging the last drops to fly away before hanging it up to dry while spinning commenced on the remaining 4+ ounces of the roving.

Violet thought the container of roving waiting to be spun was great entertainment.

By the end of Thursday the first bobbin was spun.

By the end of Tuesday Haymaker’s hat was finished with plenty of yarn left over… enough to make a matching hat for Violet.

This yarn reflects the autumn colors abounding in the natural world outside my door.

What ‘s an option when a thick handspun, crocheted hat needs to dry quickly? Place it on the warm wood stove and rotate frequently.

It’s quite aggravating that my family just doesn’t understand my need to photograph evidence of my projects, especially the people who are supposed to be modeling them.
His daughter wasn’t any better at cooperating, and at that tired point in the evening she only wanted mommy to hold her.

I hope to get a picture of the two of them together. Sitting still!

 

Black sheep pt 2

Selling spindles makes for quick setting up time. We store the spindles in bins that ride on a trolly and sit under the cloth covered table. Assemble the display shelves hang our sign and we’re ready in less than half an hour. Which gave us time to look through the market to see others setting up without the pressure to scurry back to the booth.

The pleasant slanting evening light drew people out of their RVs to sit in scattered circles chatting to friends and acquaintances.  The ladies of Abstract Fiber had set up their RV across the way from us and soon we found ourselves sitting down to pies that Susan had made the night before. Yummy! A huge marionberry as well as a huge apricot pie. Enjoyed every morsel of a sliver of each,  and their delightful company, which included an engaging African whose booth was right behind Abstract Fibers, selling baskets, bags and jewelry. Sadly, his name is gone from my memory.
It was still light when Ed and I crawled into our sleeping bags. All night it was light. The nearby parking lot light was so bright I literally could have read my book.

Pitter-pattering against the tent woke us up. Rain. What started out gentle turned into a cold, day-long deluge.
Diehard fiber and fiber animal enthusiasts braved the rain.

Sights and goods like these were well worth it. Such tempting vibrant colors and beautiful skeins.I was quite taken with the young lady who was elegantly dressed as though for high tea. She and her friend sat there for some time as he knitted away. Our booth was right beside the main door and when I caught a glimpse of them leaving I couldn’t resist a picture of contrasts.

The rain hadn’t let up at all during the day, and at times it poured hard. About 4 that afternoon Ed decided to check on our tent and soon return with a gloomy face. The rain had managed to seep through one spot  where we hadn’t been able to completely pull the rain fly taut. Being on asphalt we used the car to tie down two sides and water jugs for the other two corners. His sleeping bag was seriously soaked.

In January when I’d tried booking a motel room for BSG all the reasonable rooms were already reserved. Any motels/hotels with a room were asking close to $200 and up per night. The Olympic Track & Field Trials were beginning the same weekend as BSG, and Eugene as Track Town USA draws the running fans. We were prepared to pack it in and drive home if absolutely necessary but hoped to find a cancellation. Having a smart phone turned out to be a huge blessing! (We’d not owned one before but knowing there was no wi-fi in the barns we bit the bullet and bought one to use our card reader. Almost the very first thing after setting up and trying to run a card we discovered that the signal wasn’t strong enough and the call was dropped. The customer happened to be the very person who’d talked with us at Sock Summit about a new contraption he carried around to connect to the internet. Next thing we knew, he was back at our booth, mi-fi modem in hand with accompanying power cord. God bless him! He gave us his Mi-Fi to keep! )

Wow, the info one can access with a smart phone. Typing in motels, Eugene OR, a list popped up of all the motels with vacancies, and the number of rooms available, plus rates. Even as I scrolled through the list rooms were filling up so I frantically called one with decent rates (just over $100/night!) and secured a room for two nights. Apparently enough people who’d made reservations last January had last minute change of plans. (High gas/bad economy)

Shortly before 6pm the skies lightened a bit and the rain stopped. At six we were closing shop and rushing out to gather all of our camping gear, stuffing it in the car, wetness and all. About five blocks from the fairgrounds is a Five Guys. We were starving so pulled in for the first decent meal of the day. Just as we sat down with our hamburgers and fries the sky grew black and the rain drummed down.

Saturday brought a number of previous customers who stopped by to buy another spindle and/or show us what they’ve been spinning.
John, a friend of several years now, had just taken a workshop and one of the things they did was grab random bits of fibery fluff and spin it all together. His yarn is from various silk bits.

Ilisha, whom we’ve had the pleasure of getting to know since last year’s Sock Summit, had a bunch of yarn turtles she’d recently spun.And what does she do with these relatively small batches of yarn?
She’s the Jazz Knitter! Look at what her creative mind does with yarn! There’s no end to the scope of her imagination for using colorful yarn.

Lauri stopped by not only with her spinning but with a tool that are over a hundred years old: Turkish distaff! How exciting it was to see her putting one to use.

There were a number of weekender kids who gravitated to our spindles (and probably all the other spindle makers!) Their enthusiasm is contagious. These two were in an RV next to our tent the first night. They were at BSG to show their sheep. The girl took home at least one blue ribbon, and they both took home a Delight.

Hope everyone had a great Independence Day! I made good headway on the new website and hope that by this time next week it will be finished. I keep getting badly sidetracked by needing to maintain the ongoing regular office work.

This afternoon Ed and I headed in to town to help with the weekly community dinner (served 187 people tonight, down from the usual 450+). The core team had finished most of the prep work by the time we got there at 2:30 so we headed to the street fair happening downtown.

We saw a sweet, old spinning wheel that was in good condition for a terrific price, but alas, she didn’t take credit cards and we hadn’t taken the check book. My Tour de Fleece spinning was quite happy not to have the extra competition.

 

TdF & Black Sheep pt 1

Tour de Fleece began today!  I don’t think it’s too late if you’d like to join Team Jenkins Spindlers, just reply to the very first post so Blumzie knows you want to join. Today was the Time Trials for the Tour de France so I chose to pedal the exercise bike for 20 minutes while spinning.

Digging through my fiber stash yesterday the natural selection pointed to the fiber Ed brought back to our booth at BSG: BlarneyYarn Merino/Silk Top, 2.2 ounces of each colorway
Apparently he saw a couple of shawls at Blarney Yarns booth that stopped him in his tracks and thought I’d like to spin some of the beautiful fiber.

A walnut Aegean seemed the right spindle to show off the fibers.

As usual Black Sheep Gathering was a lot of fun, and very exhausting. An apt description of an introvert is someone whose energy is drained by people, whereas an extrovert is energized by people. So true! While I do enjoy the interactions and meeting people by the end of a show I want to disappear into the woods and hide for a week.

Once again all the visual stimulus, activity, people… put my brain on overload and other than a couple of quick dashes around to see booths I pretty much stayed at our booth. With the exception of drooling over an 8 shaft Baby Wolf that Eugene Textiles had marked down. Ed first alerted me to the loom and suggested I check it out. Very tempting. Except. We drove our Ford Focus. It was packed to the roof top with display materials, spindle boxes and camping gear.

Yep, we decided to camp this year and save motel costs.
Upon arrival the young man in charge of camping reservations gestured the huge parking lot with a broad sweep of his arm, “set up where ever you want.” Really? There was one nice grassy verge under a large fir tree that looked perfect. He phoned the supervisor, “is it okay if they put up a tent on the grass?” “Um, sure, if you don’t mind automatic sprinklers going on.”

We picked a likely spot not too far from the barns, between friendly people in RVs who come from CA every year for Black Sheep. (Rats! I can’t remember their names.)

Oops, bedtime! It’ll be an early, and long day for us tomorrow. More on BSG to come…

Groan, not that I’m likely to fall asleep soon, a bunch of fireworks (illegal) are blasting through the air with accompanying shouts of cheer. Ha! It’s begun raining. If we’re fortunate it’ll pour hard/long enough to put a damper on their early festivities.

 

Weekend Getaway

We’re almost ready for Black Sheep Gathering! Ed’s been cranking out the spindles left and right. If you’re in the area please stop by our booth, just inside the main doors and say hi. It’s fun to meet readers and Jenkins spindle fans. Please forgive me when I seem to be in a fog. I’m terrible about remembering names and faces, a problem made worse when my brain feels swamped by all the stimuli, noise and senses overload.

Exciting news for all you spinners out there who love spinning with your Jenkins spindles! There’s a Team Jenkins group on the Tour de Fleece forum at Ravelry this year. If you don’t have a Ravelry account, and you’re hesitant about yet another social network … hesitate no longer! This year I have spent very little time at Raverly except to swoop in to scope out patterns. When I’m in search for  a certain type I almost always check in Ravelry first – their patterns are practically limitless. And now, you can join the Team Jenkins and spin during every day of the official bicycle race known as Tour de France. The days they race, we spin. Your spinning efforts will be cheered on by all your teammates and there will be some prizes at the finish. The TdF begins on June 30th – just enough time to dust off your spindle, check your fiber stash and decide what challenge you want to take on. The main guideline of TdF is that the spinning project can not be started before June 30th. Just like the bike racers you may prepare ahead of time and get all set for that wild dash at the start of the race on June 30th. Take pictures and post them in the TeamJenkins page of your spinning progress.

Hope to see you there!

The weekend away was just what I needed to restore a sense of balance and positive outlook on life. By noon on Friday I had packed up the last of the orders that were ready to mail, threw my gear into the car and took off for Sisters, OR stopping to pick up Hope and Grace on the way out of town. Despite the forecast for showers and cold the sun was shining between scattered clouds. We weren’t about to let the cold, stiff wind dampen our spirits. Constance had obligations on Friday but drove over the mountains to join us Saturday afternoon where we bumped into her as we were leaving a store. Sisters is known for its scenery, small town charm and clusters of interesting stores. We rented a condo on the outskirts of town where it’s a pleasant walk to downtown. The others spent time browsing through quilt stores, dime stores, used bookstores, clothing boutiques, etc.

I took my spindle and sat on a bench in the Village Green and thoroughly enjoyed spinning whilst people watching.  A family with four kids were happily playing on the playground structure while the mom and dad sat on the grass next to the barkdust covered space watching over their children and quietly talking. The two older kids played tagged round and round, climbing the structure, slipping down the slide, a pole, swinging along the rings rarely vocalizing except to claim, “Tag!”. So much non-stop energy while their younger siblings also energetically climbing, scooted and descended in earnestness occasionally calling out, “Mom! Watch me!” Almost an hour pleasantly passed when it occurred to me how quietly and industriously they played. No shouting, screaming or yelling. They spoke nicely to one another in regular tones of voices, laughing briefly, joyously.

A mom brought a toddler over to play on the structure and though they continued their energetic game of tag they were mindful around the little girl. The parents announce lunchtime and the kids melted away from the structure following their parents’ wake to the waiting car. Mulling over how happily they had played together I marveled at their quietness and thought back to when our kids were grade school age a friend once remarked to me that we were a “quiet family”. I was surprised at the notion but soon realized what she meant. Watching and being near this quiet family and obviously happy family was very refreshing and soothing. Soon afterwards three boys came running and shouting to the playground where they immediately began climbing, jostling to be the first, the fastest, the best. Their voices carried to the far corners of the green, including their obnoxious name calling of each other.  Two polar families. Parent can teach their children to play and engage in wholesome activities without the need to be loud and pushy, they do it by example and setting the tone for quiet interaction within the family as the children are growing.

I took lots of pictures: my time in the park; the rodeo we attended on Saturday evening; small delights and pleasures. Tuesday morning I discovered that I’d lost the transfer cable somewhere along the way.  I ordered a new cable online, it should be here within a couple more days. Until then I’ll leave you with a picture taken last year in Redmond, a town about 20 miles from Sisters that knows how to celebrate and honor Flag Day.

 

Tailspin

After feeling like I’ve been in a tail spin for the past couple of weeks trying to figure out how to make the new website do what we need it to do, I have crashed.

It’s been insanely impossible to try working on the website while juggling orders. I’m at my wits end. If I ignore emails to concentrate completely on figuring out where to go with the site design then emails and orders get back-logged, bringing in some multiple emails wondering if the others were lost in cyberspace. I get that with emails have gone missing but it doesn’t help with my logjam of work. My stomach has been in knots for the past two weeks over the situation. I’m extremely grateful for all the orders and work but it’s just me in the office and Ed in the shop and there’s only so much the two of us can accomplish in a day.

With Black Sheep Gathering two weeks away we must concentrate on building up stock, recording and organizing the inventory and tending to the myriad of small details that goes into being adequately prepared for a 3 day show.  (Ed has just turned out the bedroom light. Another early night for him – 8:30pm as I write this- these days have been exhausting, and discouraging. )

Tomorrow I’ll try to coax the ancient computer beast back to life long enough to see if I can clear more memory and give it a bit extra life so I can post on the existing website that we won’t be working on orders until the end of June. I truly hope that the extra time will be the ticket to stop the nightmare of a partially functioning website and give Ed the focus he needs to be ready for BSG.

It’s scary to “take off” this time (we’ll still be working, though we hope not the endlessly long hours) since Jenkins Woodworking – spindles, hooks, needles, hairpin looms – provides our entire income. On the other hand Ed can’t afford to have a shop accident and I don’t want to lose my sanity.

Compounding things was having a venous ablation done on one of my legs to take care of the insufficient saphenous vein on the 22nd. (I’d like to post about this at length in the future.) From what I’d read it sounded like it wasn’t a big deal. For the most part it hasn’t been, it’s just one more thing to deal with during any already stressful time. The first two days I alternated between resting with my leg elevated above my heart and an ice pack on it for about 30 minutes and working in the office  for 20 – 30 more minutes, but it’s been very hard to take the time away to elevate my leg and ice it.

Wore the tight wrappings for 48 hours. I was amazed at how much it swelled even with the bandaging, tape and compression sock. (This will be the only picture of this.)

The 25th had previously been booked for filming of the spinning video. Jesse and his film partner, Shannon, had only that one day available to come down here from Portland. It was a very intense day that flew by way too quickly as we tried to cover everything in one session. I was so impressed with their professionalism and knowledge. Figuring out lighting and placement, working through the sections was a blast. We worked solidly with only a 15 minute break to eat some cheese and crackers for lunch. Then again as we neared the ending when the camera’s hard drive reached max capacity and we had to stop to transfer recordings to Jesse’s laptop. Bad timing, I’d been on a roll but with the interruption my train of thought evaporated; tiredness set in; I was concerned about my leg (no chance to rest or ice it at all). After that it was hard to pick up the pieces and get back in the groove.

Jesse setting up camera gear:
Shannon in charge of the sound system and lighting:

We began with the outdoor scene after this we moved into the house where I was too absorbed to think about getting anymore picture.
What a fun experience to work with Jesse and Shannon!

 

I thought my leg was doing extremely well since there was minimal pain. Apparently, so much lidocaine was injected all along the blood vessel that it took over a week for the numbness to wear off and the pain to really hit.  The following Tuesday, the 29th, I was absentmindedly carrying a 7 gallon container of water down some steps when I felt a burning in my leg and realized how stupid it was to carry that much weight (56lbs) so soon. It’s been burning ever since, always worse after sitting for more than 15 minutes.  Talked to a nurse about it a couple days ago and was reassured that it’s normal and that it could take a couple more weeks before the pain completely goes away.

Life feels very crazy right now. Remember the Girls’ Getaway I mentioned in the previous post?  It feels completely insane to be taking four days away from the office. My stomach somersaults just thinking about load of work that will greet me when I return. But, as I’d mentioned, it will be good to get away for a short time. Stressing about all the work won’t do me any good so I may as well enjoy the good change of pace and come back renewed in mind and spirit.

Some days trying to focus on the good is so hard!

 

On the Home Front

Rain is bucketing down and the temperatures never climbed above low 60s today. A good day to stick a roast in the oven and let it take the chill off the house. My mom cooked the best roast dinners when I was growing up. Every year we raised a locker steer that filled our freezer with good meat for the following year. With four hungry kids growing up on a small farm this was an affordable way to have good meat. Growing up I never considered that we might be considered poor by many standards but looking back I know that money must have been tight at times.

On days like today, with a roast in the oven, potatoes boiling to be mashed, home grown and preserved green beans simmering on the back burner a sense of well-being and contentment filtered through the house. For the most part Ed and I like eating simply; a one dish meal is often the most satisfying for both of us. I’m fortunate – Ed’s an easy keeper! That man can get by on one meal a day with a handful of nuts to sustain him while working all day in the shop. But sometimes a full dinner is satisfying physically and emotionally.

We’re gearing up for Black Sheep Gathering. It almost makes me dizzy to think that it’s just around the corner. This next weekend is the annual Sister’s getaway that my three friends and I have taken the past half dozen years, or so.  While I’m very much looking forward to getting away for a long weekend and spending time with dear friends it’s rather daunting to contemplate being gone when there’s much that I’d like to accomplish in the next few weeks.

I’ll try to put all those tasks from my mind and take this opportunity to rest and try to do some much needed recuperating, and some spinning, and enjoy the companionship. I hope to start a new sweater for Violet, or perhaps some red socks for myself.

After three attempts at knitting socks for Violet and designing my own baby sock pattern, I gave up with the fancy stitches and knit a 2×2 ribbing that fits her feet with a bit of room to grow. This girl will not keep socks on her feet. Awake she’s in constant motion waving her legs and arms and stretching, her socks haven’t stayed on during those vigorous motions. I was hoping the 2×2 ribbing would help but it wasn’t long before they were flung from her little feet. Don’t be alarmed, she can snuggle quietly too.

One sock is peeking from under Aurora’s arm.
Next, it was impossible to get a picture without some blurring.

Though June has come in cold and rainy we had a very pleasant May which got the strawberries off to a good start. mmmm