Just a little note

Watching the Olympic trials is just too stressful.  I can hardly take it.

There is altogether too much going on this weekandweekend.
I need a break.

And it is HOT.  But I am grateful to have power, as so many on the East coast do not.

Took my mother to Weston Theater to a matinee of the Hound of the Baskervilles.   She seemed distracted and about to go to sleep in the first half.  She expected the traditional story presented in the traditional way.   Instead, it was funny, irreverent, and a little out of the box.
I was beginning to think that bringing her was a mistake, but after the intermission, she suddenly perked up, and I think she was finally getting it.

The Weston theater is in a tiny rural town in Vermont, and this is the view off the back balcony.

Across the road, you will find the Vermont Country Store, with the Bryant House, a lovely restaurant.
There are rugs and looper looms from Crazy as a Loom in the VCS, so I guess you could say I have a 'presence' in Weston.

I have cupcakes in the oven, and a strawberry pie in the fridge.

And I'm toast.

(more monkeys coming in the next couple of days)

Bore-ing

See, you can never trust those 'weaving weekend' students........when you're not looking, they are taking pictures of you in compromising situations.
It's just not right.
Or maybe it was payback for all those candid shots I took of them......hmm.

Old looms.   You gotta love them.  But they often have issues.

And issues need to be fixed.

We are busy getting ready for a big order.  But the lawn has the indecency to keep growing, and I have no one this week to mow it.

So..........

The front lawn, the back lawn, the side lawn, the lawn around the labyrinth..........there is altogether too much lawn here.

 And it was hot, I was drenched in no time.

Just another summer day in paradise, guys.

That's it.

Lunch break.

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood.  

A good friend served lunch on her deck.

A little Caesar salad, with warm artisan bread.  It was so good.

And who is this???
Do you remember Also/Lucy/Smokey???  She was just one of the many strays who landed at the studio.
Well, Smokey is happy and settled in her new home.  She is one lucky girl.

She goes outside, but stays close to her 'mom', and her 'house'.  And she never stays out alone.
She's happy with that.

    It is good to take time out to reconnect with the people you care about. Feel the breeze, enjoy the view.
I don't do enough of it.

 My friend has a nature walk  that winds its way over 10 acres of wildflowers.

 Dessert was a lovely, chilled, strawberry pie.

Lunch with friends, and a sunny afternoon.
Doesn't get much better.

Well, actually, click on the link below.........it might actually get better.....certainly FUNNIER.
Enjoy.  And pass it on.




Margaret and Helen

Nary a cat in sight.

I think that Tuesdays should be designated 'no cat day' on this blog.

Is that possible?

Yesterday, I drove my mother north to the town I grew up in, so she could stay with a friend for a few days.

What?

What did you say?

Why, no, of course I'm not dancing.

What made you think that??

For heaven's sake.

It rained periodically, but it was a nice ride, especially the 'quiet' ride back.

Roy and I were digging it.
Right, Roy?  Roy

Today, back at the studio, it was work as usual, getting looms ready for a BIG order.
I'm not complaining.......school taxes are coming up too fast.

Number one daughter popped in while we were warping the Toika.

 We are putting on a mixed white warp, because I love a mixed white warp.

Unfortunately, using up all your small rolls, and we had a ton of them, requires patience.

This container was full to the brim when we started, so it does feel pretty good that we have made us of all those partial spools.
(omg, I just noticed a cat butt in that picture, see her....out in the hall.  I knew that Tuesday cat free thing wasn't gonna work)

When it stops raining, I am going to take Roy Boy for his walk, but I really can't wait for dinner.
I made this last night, and think I will have it again.
DH will do some MEAT thing.

It was simple, and delicious.
I find that if I precook a big bowl of brown rice, then I can have dinner for my vegetarian self, ready in no time.
I sauteed onions, zucchini, mushrooms in a large pan, cooked the broccoli (not too much) in another pan, added some Bragg and a small can of diced tomatoes to the veggies, and threw in the rice.

Whatever you call it, it satisfied.
Oh, yeah, I had a cold Corona with it.
I'm bad, I'm bad, so bad.
And it was SO good.

Cat Tails/Tales

I love it when the porch is clean and bright and ready for summer.

Having a weaving weekend involves cleaning and getting ready, so it got done.

We have always had cats coming up on the porch.  We have fed stray cats since I bought the house.
So there is always a dish of food.
Usually, they eat and run.
Call it bad manners.

Next and Enough were that way in the beginning.  They got an attitude when they were trapped and whisked off to the vet to be neutered.
Then after a while, they both got over it, and came back to the certainty of a meal and a kind word.

Next has been increasingly friendly over the past several months, until his present state of embarrassingly over the top neediness, while Enough has shown up periodically, when he was hungry.

Lately, though, we've been seeing a lot more of Enough, and last week, when Tammy was over, he crossed the line.

He is much taller than Next, and here he decided that getting petted was kind of nice.
Seems like he was saying to Next......"hmm, so THIS is what you were talking about."

Tammy.....pointing out these yummy treats.

yum,yum

All it took was some love, and some kitty treats.

 Since then, he has not left the porch, or the yard.  He jumps on your lap if you sit in one of the rockers.

He even let me put flea and tick medicine on him.
Looks like the cat census is up to SIX.

Inside, Sydney has a question.
Do you think I'm too big?
Or could you get bigger stools?

Plus three.

I'm back.
You might have guessed, I was hosting a weaving bootcamp weekend, and there was not a spare minute for me to spend blogging.

A college professor, an RN, (two if you count me, please don't count me in THAT category anymore) a kindergarten teacher, and her husband.   We were  a motley crew, and it was all good.

There were, of course, a couple of slackers on the weekend.

The first night was brutally hot, and I wondered if we might all melt before the weekend was over, but then it rained......buckets.......and it cooled off to nothing short of marvelous.

It turned out to be a perfect weekend for weaving.

Syd did manage to revive herself long enough to do her JOB, holding down rugs while the fringe is tied.
She does it so well.

Meanwhile, outside,  more slackers.

It's amazing to watch, every time...........the blooming of brand new weavers.

They usually come to Crazy as a Loom wondering if they will really be able to weave, and if they will really leave with something they made themselves.

They are always amazed when they do.

And pleased that they came.

And THAT makes me very, very happy.
Cause the weaving world is PLUS THREE.

wow.

Enough already.

We haven't seen him for a while.  No, not Next.  Enough.
But this morning, he was there at the food bowl, gobbling it down like he hadn't eaten in a while.
He's been neutered, so I guess he is just a wanderer, unlike his brother, Next,who seems content to stay put.

What a face.

The studio is getting cleaned and organized, and looking good.

I came across this shuttle, not sure where it came from.
It's all Greek to me.

If you know what kind of shuttle it is, and what the brushes are for, please enlighten me.

 It was another hot, hot day.  The studio was NOT as cool as yesterday.  It wasn't as hot as it was outside, but it wasn't cool and comfy.

 Miss Puss isn't commenting.

I came up with a new rug, which has received a THUMBS DOWN from Lois AND Tammy.
All kinds of reasons, not the least of which, is that they would get sucked up the vacuum cleaner.
PULLLLLEASSSSE.

OK, maybe it's not practical.
Maybe it's even silly.
But I like it.

It certainly is a concern, that HH will permanently affect my brain, and thus my thinking.
Oh, well, at least it's colorful.