What to do

Little day trip today with my friend.
We didn't accomplish much, but that was ok.  We really just wanted to spend time together.

I have had and still have good friends in my life.  I am very fortunate.
Some friends drift away.  Some friends pop back into your life on occasion, and other friends are always there.  I am grateful, for all of them.
Not long ago, I read The Ice Princess, by Camilla Lackberg, a Swedish writer who has become an international sensation.
Then when I was in Maine, I found her second book,  The Preacher, which I liked even better.
Then I found out that there are three more, not available on Amazon yet, The Stonecutter, The Gallows Bird, and The Hidden Child.   But they are in print in Great Britain, in English, of course.  So I did some searching, found them, and ordered them from another vendor.
Two of them have arrived, and I am into The Stonecutter already.
I highly recommend them.  Good reads.
So as much as my knitting is calling me, I'm going back to my book.
It's raining.  That's my excuse.
Roy says hey.

I love Lucy.

Yes, this is Lucy.  I can't in all good conscience call her "Also" anymore.  She is too sweet.
She just got back from the vet's yesterday, and now we know why she is SO SO THIN.
She had a tape worm.  As disgusting as it sounds, they are quite common, and the cat gets them from ingesting a FLEA.  
So no matter how much she inhaled the food I gave her, she never put on any weight.  She is in solitary right now, in the front bedroom, with a cat bed, a REAL bed, a litter box, and food.  We go up every now and then to give her love.

But yes, you guessed it, she needs a forever home.   And since I have 'drawn the line' as my DH suggested, four cats at Crazy as a Loom is enough.
This is one sweet girl, and I hope someone claims her.

Today L and I  took our most recent order to the Parish House down the road, to take pictures of it before we sent it out.  There is no place in the studio with that much floor space.......too many looms it seems.
When we got there and got it laid out, HORRORS.   We realized quite immediately that the middle section was upside down.  The blue in the rug was laid into the shed, in "slubs", and on one side, they were very visible, and on the other, not so much.  I have to take full responsibility.....I did it.

After some grumbling, we did the right thing.....painful as it was.  We took it apart, flipped the middle piece, and started over.  Went back to the studio, got the needles, the thread, scissors, etc, and we sewed that bad boy back together, again.  The right way.
Measured it.  Perfect.  Took pictures, here they are.

These were the customer's color choices, just so you know.  This is the 21' runner.

L and I rock when it comes to big rugs, just sayin'.  This one measures 12'x14.
The seams are wet, where we PRESSED them, so the color looks different, but only temporarily.

Now on to a stair runner, in the same colors, with a curved landing. Actually, two curved landings.

Yeah.  Pray for me.

Exhaustion

Autumn is in the air.  And I love it.

The only thing I don't like about it, is that it goes by so fast.

It is my favorite time of year.

My granddaughter saw this little one, and alerted me.  Fortunately, I had my NEW and AWESOME recently purchased lens on, so I zoomed right in.

Nothing like a little apple for breakfast.

I went to her morning program at school.......I think it made her happy..........what do you think???

I didn't blog last night, cause I was in bed at EIGHT PM......for real.  I was so tired, I could barely keep my eyes open.  I knew you would understand.

Here is one of my most recent students, and NEW WEAVER, with her finished project.
I know that she is one lady that is going to continue to weave, and will soon want a loom of her own.
She did a nice job.
I do love teaching people to weave.  It makes me feel good.

L notified of the problem with WASTE going on at the bird feeder.....not eating them all, to the point that they sprout, for crying out loud.
What's up with that???

I have a confession to make.  I almost just bought a new car.  
Yes, really.
For some reason I have been wanting a VW Beetle.....a brand new one.  I went and tried one out, and decided to do it.
Then I came home, and thought more about it.
My problem was that I wanted to keep my old Hyundai Santa Fe.  I carry my kayaks on it, it is in good shape....I fill it full of everything you can imagine, including grandkids, and all their junk.  I didn't want to trade it in, even though they offered me a fair trade.
I wanted to keep it, and buy the new car, and have them BOTH.
Which ultimately meant that I needed to put money down, and even then, I would have a bigger car payment than I wanted.
Especially when I am accustomed to NO car payment.
I anguished over it, thought it through 16 times or more, and decided that it was a case of "I want" and not a case of "I need".
Crap.  I hate it when I make so much sense.  It is really no fun at all.

Maybe I'll just stretch and forget about it.

Back to weaving...........I am having some withdrawal symtoms.  I.need.to.weave.

Adieu to the Fiber Festival

What?????  The Fiber Festival is OVER?????
Seriously?

Yup, tis true.  Over for another year.  It was a fun show, and I did OK.
Can't complain.
Part of the reason it was a good show, was because I had HELP.  L was there the whole entire weekend, and I actually got to SEE some of the other vendors' booths.  There have been shows in my past, where I have seen NOTHING, but the inside of my own booth.  So this was a treat, and especially so because it was a FIBER show.  And ya' know I love Fiber.

More help arrived this afternoon.

I sent her on a couple of missions.

Another vendor, who makes jewelry, loves to swap for my loopers.  And I love her copper jewelry, so we make each other very happy.
Swappage I call it.  And I love it.  I sent Gabby to pick up a pin.

And it looks GREAT on my ruana.
What do you think??
There were lots of admirers, but no one took it home.

Kits were the big sellers this weekend, which didn't surprise me.  This is a show for people who LOVE to make things.
There was plenty to tempt them.

I am usually exhausted after a show.....I think it is more mental than anything.

Something about putting yourself and your wares out there, makes you tired.
That's my theory anyway.

It's kind of like, ok, this is who I am, and what I do.....................do you like me????

It isn't about the money, it never was.
Ah.........

Go figure.

No matter what kind of day I've had, my mood can be brightened.
It's true.
I'm easy sometimes.

Could you resist that look?  Tell me really.
Not every one has a little geisha girl in their house.

Sometimes I don't 'get' life.  Sometimes it just doesn't make any sense.  It sure as heck doesn't seem fair.

But then I get the hug, and the smile, and "I love you so much, Mimi."

And somehow, suddenly, everything makes perfect sense.
Yes, it does.

Roy thinks so, too.

Just in passing

Packed up the car today for the Fiber Festival tomorrow.  It seemed to make sense.  We were there early, and gone in an hour.   

On the ride home, L wanted to take a side road.  She knows them all.  I kid you not.  

Today was supposed to be a wash, with rain, and more rain.  But it didn't happen all day.
The drive along the Hudson River was  peaceful and lovely.

There is nothing like rural Washington County, N.Y. to  calm my nerves.

This is a "portage" where boats had to be carried over land.

There are lots of interesting bridges  over the canal.

I had a phone call tonight, from a life long friend.  Her husband has cancer, and it has been a long 9 months.  

Sometimes, you can't tell what things are like from the outside.
Appearances can be deceiving.

All we can do is take life one day at a time, let life unfold.
And be grateful, for what we have.

Even if life is not perfect, it's what we have.  And it's a gift.

Having spent the better part of my life trying either to relive the past or experience the future before it arrives, I have come to believe that in between these two extremes is peace.  ~Author Unknown

Give it to the girls.

Yesterday and today  I had students.   

It is always amazing to me, that  total newbies  can be weaving this quickly.

Amazing to them, too!!!

 I should have started two bulletin boards a long time ago; one with pictures of all my students.
The other with pictures of all the stray cats whose lives changed when they stopped in at Crazy as a Loom.

I  might be able to go back and fetch all those photos, cause you KNOW I took them.  But that would require TIME.  I'm always short of that.

Maybe I should just start now.

Also is quite at home.  She eats like a pig, and stays close.

While I was watching her, something got her attention.

Ah, Next was trying to come up on the porch, and she has laid claim.

She stared him down, and he ran off into the labyrinth.
Women rule.

We all have a flat side.

I love autumn.

All these pictures are right out of the camera, these pumpkins are so gorgeous, they need nothing at all.

They are right around the corner from the studio.  Not all of them are out of the field.  There will be 300 or more when they are all lined up.

I don' think there is anything as vibrant and colorful as a pumpkin.

As I was walking around looking admiring them all, I noticed that they weren't all perfect.

Hard to believe, right??

The field is muddy, from the rain, so the tractor is necessary to transport them.

The work that went into growing these beauties covers months.

I would love to put some of these on my buckboard, but everyone says they would get stolen, being so close to the road.

They would look so nice though, and I want to think that people are good.

Gourds are kind of like people, aren't they??
It's amazing, really, how there can be so many differences in one species.
Knobby, smooth, green, yellow, striped,  all different shades and shapes.
Crazy beautiful, right?

Pumpkins though, are all the same color, just different shapes.  Still they seem to have different personalities.
Or is it just me??
But look at them!

They seem to be quite pleased with themselves, don't you think?

Kind of looks like graduation day, doesn't it?

But did you know, that as beautiful and colorful as they are..........

as bright, as engaging as they can be.......

They all have a FLAT side.
Yup, tis true.
Where they were laying on the ground, while they were growing, getting beautiful, they got FLAT on one side.

I think that pumpkins are much like people.   Beautiful, colorful, the same, yet so different,
full of possibilities.

But no matter how extraordinary, we all have a FLAT side.

Maybe that's what defines us, after all.