And the Winner Is..........

The "Peruvian" hat; actually, when I pulled out the pattern from the magazine, it is called the "Andean" hat. (You know, like a ski hat with ear flaps) All I know is it is intarsia, 5 colors, 4 different pattern charts. I love doing this! Last winter I made 3 such hats (ski hats with ear flaps), like Scandinavian knitting(?); snowflake pattern; 3 colors. Really liked how they turned out.

Well, everything was going along great; had the hat finished up in 2 days. Just as I got to the last row, ready to finish off the top, I looked at the hat and thought "this is way too small! This can't be right." Went back and read the pattern over 3 times until it hit me --- I omitted 2 pattern charts! Aaarrrgghhh! Know what that means??? Rrrriiiipppp. 5 colors! All the crown decreases! And the worse part is -- oh yes, it gets worse -- I was marking the rows as I finished them and used a post-it note to keep track of the chart rows! Ooohhh Yeah!

This morning I patiently and cautiously ripped out the damn thing down to where the good knitting was and placed all 104 stitches back on the circular needles; I'm ready to go again. I will persevere; I will not be dissuaded; I want that hat!!

I am becoming so delusional that as I was knitting this mistake, I was dreaming of actually making a whole sweater with chart patterning! Crazy, I know. Here's another "not all there" moment -- I was also planning the colors for the next "Andean" hat! I know!! Call the Funny Farm; get the jacket with the extra long sleeves; "Step Away from the Knitting Needles Now!"

I know how this happened -- I surprisingly had 2 nights off from work - someone else offered to do them for me. I was so giddy, I couldn't wait to get home and continue knitting. I had forgone my afternoon nap! Had leftovers(for the second night in a row) for supper; it was a quiet and laidback evening. I could and did knit and knit and knit and then --- it happened. I got too sure of myself; too confident; too starry eyed. Visions of charted sweaters dancing in my head!

To ease the frustration, I made a huge pot of chili last night. I know, I know - "how could you attempt to put together the ingredients for chili when you can't even follow simple charts?" you ask. Ha! What more could possible go wrong!

The chili did turn out great, so says my son who had 2 big bowls at 11:00pm. And it was even better tonight for supper, says same son who had 3 big bowls! BH also agreed it was delicious. So take that, gremlins of fiber antics!!

I did get the sweater vest washed up the other day. It is now dried and put away; still have to sew the buttons on -3 wood buttons. Hope to get that done on Thursday. Hope to have pictures posted here soon. I am very happy with the vest; it turned out beautifully, especially being that most of the shaping was done on a wing and a prayer. Now how did I manage to do that?!

Happy spinning and knitting!

First WIP of New Year Done.......check!

Whew! It's finally done! Yea! My fingers are doing the "happy knitting" dance. You know what I mean. I never thought I'd get this vest done. Just had the collar to do --- ripped it out 3 times. 3 times. Then it dawned on me -- you can't do ribbing vertically across the back when the ribbing runs up the front; no. no. no. Continue the ribbing as a band across the back. Ohhhh. That worked.

So now what will be the next project. Socks? I love socks. Or how about the Peruvian hat I've been just itching to get at. Or how about that beautiful shawl I saw in the magazine -- and I spun just the yarn for it. A gorgeous golden brown wool/mohair with copper colored glass beads (thank you!) spun in a 2 ply laceweight. Ooohhhhh; aaaahhhhh. This might just be the winner. Although.....wait a minute....come to think of it, I'm not so sure I want to start another project that I know will take me quite a while to finish. Right now I think I want something with more instant gratification.

Of course, I should really get back to spinning and finish the blue because I really need to do more colors and break away from the browns. Oh crap.

It's been a good week so far here in the Frozen Northland. 2 more days of teens-below-zero at night and then a warm up for the weekend. We may see 12 degrees above 0 during the day. Hey, at the end of January, we call that a "heat wave".

The son-who-is-looking-for-work-while-staying-with-us had 3 interviews these past 2 days and is hoping to make another connection tomorrow. We are all saying prayers, lighting candles and keeping our fingers crossed. He has just 2 more months of unemployment left. You know it'll go by in the blink of an eye.

Tomorrow is a "freebee" day for me. Day off from work. Housework and laundry done. Groceries in the house. I think I'll putter and clean the inside of the refrigerator (since I knocked over a half gallon of juice last week and just mopped up the immediate spill, not the splashes!) And I have some food containers to be stored away. Gotta think of something good to make for dinner; son will be home tomorrow afternoon. Maybe I'll start that next knitting project.

Happy spinning and knitting!

So, What's New?

Well, it's been pretty much same ol same ol. Except, we have been getting a freezing rain/snow mix for 2 days now. Temps have been mild, but that's going to change by Wednesday. Geez, I hate this time of year. Ice, I hate ice. Ice should be in drinks, not on driveways, sidewalks and streets to threaten your very existance!

I've been working a lot this week; did I mention that not only do we do our day shift but then go back to work in the evening for about 1 1/2 hours? Yeah. Well. The paycheck was awesome; the body - not so much. Plus it doesn't leave much time for fun things.

The Vikings lost tonight. I'm not a football fanatic; my BH has been explaining the game to me this season. I will sit and watch with him; it's the least I can do (remember: wool festivals and on-line shopping at fiber stores). No, my season is baseball! I love baseball! I can understand that game! It's relaxing, pleasant, and non-violent (most of the time). I can even remember most of the player's names. I wouldn't even care if the season went all year! (Yea Yankees!!) Well, there's no joy in Minnesota tonight. Put away the purple plummage for another year, folks.

Has anyone seen the news stories about John Edwards? Why do men do that? What the hell is wrong with them? He's gotta be the worst. A wife with cancer, who has stood by his side through all the campaining and hulabaloo; 2 small children. And he lied through his teeth with that condesending smirk months ago to the reporters. What a piece of work. I hope Elizabeth gets the courage to throw his well groomed arse out. Why does she need that kind of disrespect and humiliation? I don't get it. Well, actually, I do - money. What a shame.

I am almost through with the vest! I did the neckline yesterday, only to discover that I didn't pick up enough stitches across the back. aaarrgghhh. Ripped it out. Will try again tomorrow. I did try it on, though. It turned out pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. It is a small size; which is okay, since it seems like everything I make is of the "large" or "xtra large" variety. Ah, but see this time, I knew I didn't have enough yarn, nor the means to procure more of the same alpaca or spin more of the same shetland, so I had to be very careful with the pattern size. I can't wait to find the buttons for it. I love buttons. I have two "fruitcake" tins of buttons acquired from auctions and garage sales.

I also managed to spin Saturday evening - finished loading a bobbin and started the next one. God knows when I'll be getting back to that. So close. Now I'm getting the itch to open the box with the Ashford Traveler wheel that I purchased at the Michigan Wool Festival about - let's see - a year and a half ago. You heard me. 1 1/2 years ago! Why, you ask? Well, I've been waiting for the right time. I decided I didn't want to varnish it, so I bought tung oil - last summer. I will oil all the wood parts before assembling the wheel. Just haven't found the right time to read the oiling directions and get to it. I know. It's almost a sin. I think I'm really slowing down in my "old" age. I sure hope the wood hasn't gotten all wonky in the box!

God, I can't wait til I can retire - again- for good.

Happy spinning and knitting!

Spinning My Wheels (actually, wheel)

This was the morning. I actually uncovered a wheel, opened the tub of wool and resumed the spinning I left behind before Christmas. I almost felt like a "newbie"; trying to continue the same grist as already on the bobbin; trying to keep the wool from getting away from me; don't treadle too fast or too slow; don't wind on too fast. It really felt great. I love spinning.

While putting away the last(?) of the Christmas paraphenalia, I happened to glance over as I was walking out the door of the storage house, and noticed a storage tote with what appeared to be a large ball of red roving and like ball of the denim blue roving. Holy crap! I had forgotten about them! I had taken them out of the other super large tote because they were to be next on the agenda, to be plied with co-ordinating colors already on bobbins.

I get the notion about once a month to go through all my totes and see exactly what colors of roving and how much I have. Actually, I love to look at the colors, the kinds of wool, to feel them, to smell them, to dream of projects to come. It revives and inspires me to no end! You fiber addicts know what I'm talking about! I never fail to be surprised at a roving purchase that has been forgotten about. My BH laughs when I tell him "guess what I found in my stash".

This more often that not gets followed by questions like:

BH: " How much wool would you say you have?"
ME: "Oh, about 150 pounds"
BH: "If you could spin for 8 hours every day, how long do you think it would take to spin all that up?"
ME: " 8 hours? Every day? Probably about a year or more." Or if I'm annoyed at the question for the umpteenth time, I say " Ha! I should live so long!"

Or he goes in this direction:
BH: "How many pairs of socks can you make out of that?" (the color I am currently working on). Or "how many ounces does it take for a pair of socks? How many ounces for a hat? mittens?"

But I have to say, if I said there's a wool festival tomorrow I want to go to, he would be ready; no questions asked; no purchases denied. He is truly the enabler to my addiction!! Gotta love him for it.

I really have to get focused now and put my nose to the wheel - eh, wool.

Alone At Last.....

Ahhhh, what a day. Did a bit of house cleaning; baked yeast rolls, which turned out fantastic. I didn't make them from scratch - be serious!- but rather got a package of frozen dough from my friend. They are delicious - had a couple with my bean soup (this was made from scratch).

Well, the point of my second post today is my BH left this afternoon to go to son's home to watch the football game. I don't know which one, but I was told it was one of the important ones. Oh yeah, I remember, he did say the Cardinals were losing when he called early this evening. Sooooo???

I've had almost the whole day to myself!! Son -who- is- living -with -us -until -he -finds- a- job went to the Cities to visit his brother and uncle and see about more job postings.

OMG!! This does not happen often. I have been doing a happy dance! All sorts of daydreams occur -- like what my life would be like if I were a single woman. Think of it --- every free hour, yours to do as you wish. Putz around; take care of odd jobs; eat what you want, when you want; have full control over the tv remote; few dishes in the sink; the carpets look the same as when I vacuumed them today; I can play on the computer. My head is whirling!!

So, I had supper, as I said. Cleaned up my dishes; washed a pair of socks that were knitted up before Christmas; planted the Amarylis my friend gave me for Christmas; watched some favorite situation comedies that I don't watch when BH is home because he can't stand piped in laughter. Me, I block it out. And now, I get to post another blog for today! Which I would not be doing, because that would mean leaving BH alone in the family room - abandonment issues.

I can even stay up and watch all of Saturday Night Live because I don't have to go to work tomorrow!

This is truly a Blue Ribbon Day! Probably won't have another until the opener of Bass fishing season (the end of May). I know!

I want to give a shout out to Judy - thank you for your very nice comments to my blogs. I was wondering if I did everything right when signing up or if I was just blogging for my own sanity, such as it is.

Well BH will be home by 11:00am tomorrow - to watch the Vikings game. But I have plans anyway. Still have some Christmas things to put away. Funny how they just sort of appear after all the storage boxes have been stored! Must be post Christmas gremlins; I could've sworn everything was out of the house.

And of course, there's the lasagna to put together for supper plus I got the recipe out for a new dessert - a "dump" cake made with mini marshmallows, cake mix, sprinkle jello on top and 3 containers of strawberries. Bake it all together; apparently the marshmallows come to the top, the berries sink to the bottom. Serve with whipped cream. Sounds great! Can't wait!

And I finished knitting the last panel on my vest. Started to do the armholes. I think I'm going to do a short sleeve kind of thing instead of just ribbing. I've been seeing a lot of vests that have a capped sleeve and it looks very nice. Will post a picture when it is totally done. Could be a while. Be patient. Maybe I'll get ambitious and take photos of some yarn , too. Problem is, digital cameras are great for taking pictures, not so much when you load them onto the computer and then have to reduce them, correct the exposure, crop and save in a totally different folder from where they landed. This I consider to be a real pain in the arse! Too time consuming for me. But I will persevere - eventually.

Talked to my granddaughter today. She's 14 1/2. I taught her to spin 2 years ago. We have taken her with us to Sheep and Wool festivals in the past. Also taught her how to knit when she was 10. Gave her one of my wheels. She caught on to spinning very fast - and she is good at it.

I asked her if she's been doing any knitting lately - no. Well she's in 9th grade and has evolved like the proverbial butterfly. She has a cluster of new friends, a new look and new fashion sense. Plus she is a very good student; diligent with the homework. So I guess our spinning and knitting sessions are on hold for a while. I miss that. She lives 3 hours away, so it's hard to get together. As a matter of fact, we haven't seen her since last Christmas! I used to go down there pretty regularly or my daughter came up here, but with me working now, our schedules never seem to mesh.

Oh well. 2 more years and I'm retiring - permanently - from the work force. I swear on all that is spinnable.

Have a good night, one and all.

Aren't We Supposed to Be Hibernating?

My husband gets bent out of shape sometimes during the winter months because - let's face it - there's not a whole lot of activities you can do. Oh I hear you --"what? in Northern Minnesota? There's skiing, skating, snowboarding, ski-dooing, and of course, ice fishing." He does none of these things. Tried ice fishing a couple of times, not for him; too cold, too boring, doesn't like just sitting waiting for something to take the bait. He is, however, an avid bass fisherman. I know, I know - we should be down South.

My answer to him is I think we're supposed to be hibernating. We should all take life's lessons from the animal kingdom. The bears, rodents, bugs, all hibernate. Oh yeah, you do have the rogues - wolves, coyotes, bunnies, birds - who don't care what the season. Rogues. Me and BH - we think the bears have it right.

It's been a great couple of days here in the Northland. I have the weekend off from work, so it will be more great days! Thursday was the dentist, take the daughter grocery shopping, do our grocery shopping on the way home. Yesterday I put on a huge pot of bean soup. Let it simmer last night while at work. Dinner today. Yum! Also have a pan of yeast rolls rising in the oven. Tomorrow - lasagna!! Maybe I'll make dessert - we've been desserting on Christmas cookies or ice cream for the past 3 weeks! Need a change.

Another plus - the weather has been warming up quite nicely! Sunshine! Oh, thoughts of Spring! Even getting excited about Spring cleaning, painting, redecorating. I keep rolling ideas in my mind; sure hope I can accomplish something this year.

Geez, I might even uncover one of my wheels and get back to spinning this weekend. But first there is (yuk) house cleaning to do. I hate house cleaning as much as I love spinning and knitting. That's quite extreme. But I can only stand the dust balls floating across my feet for just so long.

The son who is living with us at the moment has a bunny - "Lambchop". She is a 2 year old mini rex/lionhead cross. He's had her since she was a wee tiny baby. We just love her. She has a great personality; very funny. Well last week "Lammie" had surgery - spayed. Overnight at the vet hospital; came home the next day with medicines to be taken for 7 days, orally with a seringe. Oh boy! We were on pins and needles, worried that she would recouperate without incident. It's been a week and a half and all seems back to normal. She's doing great. Medicine regime is done; she can run and play; kicks up her back legs and wiggles her tail (a sign she's very happy) and eating like there's no tomorrow.

This is Lammie: Cute, no? She has these amazing fluffy mutton chops on her cheeks. And she has a tuff of fur that stands up between her ears.

Her fur is very wavy on her back, but not long enough to spin, though Son keeps trying to convince me it is.

Oh geez, it's 9:00am. I better get moving if I want to get anything done today. Wishing all a beautiful day!

Lists. I Can't Function without (or with) Lists!

How is it that some people can accomplish umpteen things in a day and I can barely achieve what needs to be done?

You know what I'm talking about --- you know people who can fix a 5 course breakfast, do 6 loads of laundry, plant and weed the garden, run errands in between, can and freeze the produce from said garden, visit family and friends for coffee, take the children to sports, dancing, music lessons, prepare a 5 course dinner from scratch, entertain relatives in the evening and still manage to spin a pound of wool and knit half a sweater or 4 pairs of socks. All in one day. That's still 24 hours - the same amount of hours I have in a day. But I do not manage to do 1/4 of these things. What is the problem?

I tire very easily - not physically, but mentally. I have 2 days off from work, not weekends, but middle of the week days. I can plan for these 2 days the night before or a week before. It doesn't matter. Come the day, something always happens to throw my mood and ambition into a deep cavern. I can't think straight. I can't organize. I can barely function. Once in a blue moon (didn't we just have one of those?) can I carry through with my mental list and accomplish maybe more than half of what I planned.

I'm a list maker. A list for grocery shopping; a list for household shopping; a list for seasonal jobs around and in the house; a list of errands to run; a list of meals to be prepared, parties to be given, items to pack for vacations, Christmas items for gifts, birthday cards to be sent and THINGS I WANT TO DO FOR MYSELF ON MY DAYS OFF!

In June I will find my list of Christmas shopping at the bottom of my purse.

Today I planned to wash a pair of knitted socks to give as a gift for Christmas - this past Christmas, not next. Don't ask. Also do a load of laundry, dust and vacuum the house, call storage companies for prices on units for an elderly friend who is ill, spin some more wool and finish sewing the shoulders together on a knitted vest, then prepare dinner - scalloped cheesy potatoes and ham casserole.

What have I done you ask? Called a few storage companies - the others were answered by an answering machine! (How does someone run a business when at 10:00am no one is there to answer the phone??) and threw in a load of wash. That's it. Of course it's too early to start dinner, so that possibility is still on the "List"!

The problem is I let setbacks overwhelm me; to the point where I can't do anything. I totally give up. I am defeated. I accomplish nothing. I am ashamed.

It's taken me 3 days to sit at the computer and write this blog, such as it is. I couldn't get my thoughts in order (maybe I still haven't).

Holy crap! I just got a message at the bottom of the screen saying "blogger could not be contacted; message may not be saved". You mean I wrote all this for nothing? See what I mean - another setback. And now I must go. Maybe try this again later. Hopefully in a much better mood. I'll put it on my List.

Post Christmas Blues??

This was a very busy day for me - no spinning yet, but I do manage to get some knitting done every morning for about 1 1/2 hours. I've been working on a vest, have about 2 more inches on the last front panel and then I have to band the armholes and sew on the buttons. The yarn is a beautiful brown Shetland spun in fingering weight. I'm also using a light brown alpaca that my mom purchased for me a couple of years ago. Rows are alternated between the two wools. The pattern is called "Crest of the Wave"; very lacy; very pretty. Hope to post a picture when it's done.

I have white merino on one of my wheels, which I want to ply with a spaced dyed merino of light blues and rose colors for some socks. Then there is a sky blue generic wool on the other wheel I want to ply with a denim blue merino for ---- socks. I love knitting socks!

Boy, I have been feeling like crap for too many days. I finally managed to get all the Christmas decorations down and put away today, swearing to myself and BH that this is the last year - I don't want to do this anymore. (I've been saying this for at least 3 years now). It just doesn't seem the same now that the kids rarely come up here - this year it was because of the horrendous snowstorms we had from Christmas Eve right through the following Saturday. It's a lot of work for only the 2 of us. Then add all the baking, shopping, wrapping, and boxes to be packed that have to go out of state; cards to be sent out; gifts for co-workers.

This is usually my favorite time of the season, after the holidays, finally getting back to my normal, quiet routine. But something is amiss. Can't put my finger on it yet.

I've been planning on making strumboli since last week. I finally got to it today amidst the undecorating and cleaning. I thought it tasted pretty darn good - BH, not so much. Another reason for my funky feeling, me thinks. Oh well, all that matters is the cook thinks it tastes good, right?

Today is my mom's 80th birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom! We called her first thing this morning with well wishes and love. She said she wasn't doing anything special. We ordered a dozen red roses w/babies breath and ferns to be delivered late this afternoon. I have not heard from mom to say she got the flowers - #2 reason for the funk?

She told my sister the other day that she "does not want any party! Peter, (my dad) you tell her I want noooo party!" So, sister says to me "I guess we won't have a party; she doesn't want one". Here's a little history on this situation:

Two years ago, we had a huge surprise party for my dad's 80th. Big party; most of the family from out of state came back; neighbors, friends, long lost relatives - it was a grand old time! My mother made a comment that we better not forget she turns 80 in 2 years. Let me say that my mom loves, I mean Loves to be "Queen for a Day"!! As a matter of fact, BH calls her "Queen Mum" even to her face; she Loves it! When she sends him mail, she puts gold crown stickers on the envelope!! I kid you not!

Well anyway, last year we had another big party for my parents' 60th wedding anniversary. The whole shibang, again. Afterwards, my sister and other siblings were discussing mom's birthday this year. I told them we had better plan a party -- and it better be twice as big as Pop's was, or there will be hell to pay. She will never - ever- let us forget it! And so all was agreed. Just a little notation here: My mother and father are always in competition with each other; well actually, my mother is always in competition with my father. It had better be bigger, more festive, more guests and more about her only! Geezzzz.

To this day, she tells everyone in earshot about the time she had to be hospitalized with a respiratory infection and the next day my dad had to be hospitalized with the same illness; different rooms, different floors -- Divine intervention, I do believe! "Geez, I can't even get peace by going to the hospital; he's gotta follow me there, too" she tells all. Oh well, maybe I'll be there some day, too. But if I am, I tell BH "shoot me"!

Tomorrow we go to our daughter's apartment and dismantle all her Christmas decorations; she's handicapped. She lives an hour away. Then we have to stop by our elderly friend's apartment and clean out her refridgerator and chest freezer. She was in a horrible car accident 5 weeks ago and is now in a long term care facility. She just regained consciousness Sunday; still has a long way to go until she is better, God willing.

So there you have it. My BH keeps saying "why don't you go back to NY and visit your parents? Get away for a while". Why? Well let me see:

1. I am sick of leaving my house. For the past 5 years, I have been leaving my house to help out various family members, sometimes for weeks at a time. I never unpacked my suitcase! just kept it by the door, waiting for the next phone call.

2. Since we renovated our home 5 years ago, I have yet to spend as much time as I want, doing what I want, when I want for as long as I want without some matter of interruption.

3. I have gone back to work as of last Fall. A laborious job; 5 days a week; indiscriminate hours.

4. No, I need an apartment - for myself. That I can go to when I want to be alone and relax and (see #2 above).

Aaarrgghhh! This too shall pass - like a kidney stone, I fear!

First New Year's Resolution - check!

I did it! I've been telling myself for 2 years that I was going to start a blog. I made a New Year's resolution - I did it! I hope this will be as much fun as all the blogs I've been reading over the last couple of years. I know, I know - there's still a lot of work to be done. Pictures, links, favorite blogs, etc. All in good time, my pretties! "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step". This is going to be my mantra (because most things I attempt only take me a few steps, that's it).

I can't wait to really get rolling. Holy cow, this is exciting! ( I just know all of you experienced bloggers are rolling your eyes, thinking "oh boy - another one").

This just may save my sanity - you know, so many things you want to say but no one is listening; or you just want a sounding board without hurting the feelings of any one close to you - the one you really want to say these things to! Now if I tell certain people that I now have a blog, and they happen to find and read it, that is for a future decision.

Well, the Holiday season is over. A good thing. This has not been the most joyous of seasons for one reason or another. I am so looking forward to getting back to my normal routine. I miss my spinning wheels! Haven't touched them since the first week in December - too many things to do getting ready for the holidays. Too much confusion, hecticness, demands on my free time. How do we ever get through it and hang on to our sanity? In my case, you can fool a lot of the people sometime.....some of the people a lot of the time.........you know the drill!

Ok, let's get down to basics........let me introduce myself. Yes, I live in Northern Minnesota, not a lifer, but rather a transplant from western New York (Yea Yanks!!). My husband and I retired here 18 years ago after he retired. We had decided a couple of years before that we would move somewhere else to experience a new lifestyle. We searched and searched; we still wanted the 4 seasons; we wanted to get back to basics, to live in a rural area versus the suburbs we knew all our lives; to live simply. Now the fact that we had 2 young boys yet that would have to come with us, gave us another challenge. Not to mention the other 6 kids, all young adults who could very well live on their own but yet most chose to stay at home with mom and dad - did not believe that we had actually bought a property and were moving in 2 months until the moving van was pulling out of the driveway with arms waving frantically "goodbye". Tears were flowing from those left in the distance. "Shock and Awe"?? Politicians don't know the meaning of that phrase!

It's all been good. The 2 boys grew up; we live the way we dreamed; relatives have been out to visit many, many times as we have gone back to visit also. So many comings and goings; kids moving back home, kids leaving; my brother who sold his home in New York 2 years after we moved and moved his family here. But he chose to move to a suburb of Minneapolis. Strange, but it looks like the same neighborhood he left! Same life, same type of friends, same activities, same jobs. I don't get it!

Well, I've been a spinner for over 15 years now. No, I don't have any sheep. I'm not allowed. The conversation with my better half goes something like this: Me: "we should get a couple of lambs. Not ones that will grow huge, just small sheep. Besides, they would be good company for the dog. He loves little kids and making everyone believe he's the boss; they have to be rounded up and protected". Besides, I have their names picked out: "Knit" and "Purl" - both females.

Him: "where are we going to put them? How are we going to corral them? What do we do with them in the winter? What happens when one dies? You'll be crying your eyes out."

Me: "we have 6 1/2 acres of land! You have wood up the wazoo, build a fence. Everyone says all they need is a 3-sided leanto and a lot of hay for bedding in the winter - They have wool coats, for God's sake. If something happens to one of them, we just shear it and give it a good burial."

No dice. But that's ok. I have found websites to buy my wool. And thanks to my subscription to a spinning magazine (am I allowed to give the name here? don't know - and I don't want to run the risk of my blog being banned on the first day), I have also found sheep and wool festivals that we have visited, which also entails a few days of camping, which "Better Half" ( hereafter known as BH) absolutely loves!

So right now I have an extensive assortment of storage containers in various sizes packed with my procurements from such excursions and websites - maybe 200 lbs. worth - in assorted colors, weights and wools. I am living "la vive loca"!!

Oh crap, time to finish the laundry. Join me for the next installment - soon I hope!

Happy Spinning!