Figuring it out, still.

DH is home.  He spent two long days in the hospital, having every test imaginable.
It wasn't a stroke, which is good news.
Apparently, he suffered his very first seizure, and they really don't know why.
They think it arose from the damaged brain tissue, from the stroke he did have 6 years ago.

He's tired, but otherwise, doing ok.

For me, it was a lesson in not worrying about the future, not trying to live in tomorrow, or what tomorrow might bring.
Because in truth, there is no way to know.

This is Denali, where my son in law and grandson were a few days ago.

Kind of like life, it just is what it is. Beautiful, scary.  Accept it. And move on.

I thank you for all your kind comments and well wishes.

L did GREAT at the Blue Mountain Lake show, and I was very (beyond) pleased.

The reason I wanted to do shows this summer, was to pay off my credit card from the Compudobby purchase.

On that front, well, I guess all's well that ends well.

But honestly, it was a bitch.

It took me four, no five, days to get it operational.

I read the 15 page instructions about three times.

I first took off all the mechanical dobby parts.  Then I installed the new Compudobby.

But then it didn't work.  Of course it didn't.

I kept thinking it had to do with the sensor.  My neighbor, who is brilliant, came over, and said, "no, it's not working because the loom and the computer aren't communicating".

After throwing my hands in the air several times, and feeling completely overwhelmed, I skyped with Bob from AVL.

He was great, and walked me through it.

AND GUESS WHAT????  drum roll..................IT WAS THE FRICKING SENSOR.

Just like I thought.

Which brings me to another subject.  WHY?  WHY do women tend to bow to a man's opinion, EVEN when there is evidence that we might be right???  Why don't we believe in our gut???? When do we get over that???

The relief that I felt when it was working was incredible.  It felt so good.

I got a warp on the loom, and spent hours threading, so I could try it out.

A little green and silver tencel.

I have come to the realization, that things that I used to think were over my head, may not be.

After all.

And FINALLY, it was operational.

I have no idea why I waited so long to do this.
But I know that I should have done it long ago.
After looking at other looms, and thinking that I needed to save to buy a NEW loom with all the bells and whistles, I realize that I now have the perfect loom for me.
 16 harness- enough to do incredible things.
E-lift- heaven, and kind to my aging body.   (why is that so hard to admit??)
Compudobby-the opportunity to be more creative and change patterns with a click, with unlimited repeats.....well, 2200 repeats might as well be unlimited!!!!!

FUN does not begin to describe it.
I wanted to weave all night, but after threading 714 threads,  my neck said, NOPE.
You're done for today.

MY neck rules. RULES.

Lois is working on undulating twill, again.  We both love it.

She has an accomplice.  Sydney stays here supervising much of the day.
The hassock is on wheels, so it is always interesting to see her jump up there.

Life is good, unpredictable, but good.

And there's always tea.

My mother taught me well.

Summer is flying by, soon it will be fall, and that's ok with me.   My favorite time of year.

I leave you with a sleeping baby......my youngest grandson.
I only have to look at my grands, to remind me how precious life really is.

My daughter and granddaughter, in Maine.

I get older, and all the angst I have endured in my life, trying to figure life out, seems silly to me now.
It's really all so simple, in the end.

Go ahead, make plans.

You know what they say, "tell God your plans, he'll get a good laugh."

That's my life of late.

July has been busy, in mostly a good way.

We've been moving rocks from a big rock pile that we had.....making the place look neater, nicer.

We had this pile of huge rocks, with a wood chuck hole right in the center.  So DH and I have been moving rocks, 3 or 4 every morning, and maybe 3 or 4 after dinner.

They have accumulated rapidly, and the pile is almost gone.

It is wicked hard work though, and my back protests.
Oh, hell, my whole body protests, who am I kidding??

As you can see DH's treasured old mustang in in the garage......
so we decided to build a shed for the pellets.

It's tucked in next to the barn, and it's perfect.
Simple, but will do the job.

Lois and Claire and I went blueberry picking.....it was a sunny, lovely day, but next time I will go earlier.  It got a little hot.

I picked 7 and a half quarts.

I made these amazing scones, and put the rest in the freezer.

I just finished this, for middle daughter's birthday in August, and it's ready to be quilted.

L and I went to our friend Bonnie's for lunch.......it's the most peaceful place in the world, and it's always a nice time.

On Thursday my first born daughter came up with a chair that I had given her a while back......a wing back, with the ottoman.

I covered the ottoman and the chair cushion last week, but we had to cover the chair.

Keep in mind that NEITHER of us has ever covered a chair.
We were totally winging it. (snort)
I did the sewing, but she was working on other stuff the whole time.  We worked at it from 10am to 5:30 pm with just a short lunch break.

We wished this WAS wine.
I gotta tell ya, I totally understand the high cost of upholstery.
It's a bitch of a job.

Ta da.
We did it.  And while I would caution you not to look too closely, it looks pretty darn good to me.
She's happy with it.

So we finished and she and granddaughter went home.

About 20 minutes later, DH, who has been tired out and not feeling well for a few days, had some sort of hour long event, scared me silly, and changed the course of the day.
I thought I was going to collapse on the sofa, but instead I spent the next 7 hours in the ER.

He was admitted to the hospital, and that's where he still is.   I am about to go back there, hoping he will come home today.

They are still not sure if he had another stroke (he had one 6 years ago), or if it was some weird kind of seizure activity.  I am hoping to talk to the neurologist today.
I waited there until 8pm last night, and he didn't show.

L and I had three shows planned and paid for, the first of which is today in Blue Mountain Lake, about an hour and a half north.
There was no way I could go.
But her sister C volunteered to do it with Lois, if it was ok with me, and that's where they are headed right now.
To haul and set up, and do a day long show for me.
Friends like that: priceless.  I don't even know what to say.

 Just proves, once again, that no matter how hard or frightening or uneven the ground is that you are walking on, there is reason to look up.
There is beauty and good all around.

And sometimes, it is right in front of you.

Cats

For those of my blogger friends who have followed for awhile, you probably remember BubbaLee.

Here she is about 7 years ago.   I first caught her two kittens, found them homes, watched her carousing around with "Bunny Nose" aka Pete, and with Lois, caught her next 5 kittens, found them homes.

Eventually, we caught HER, and got her spayed.

She's been around her since spring 2010.  Sometimes she would be gone for days, but she would always return.  I've fed her, given her a heated place to sleep in the barn, but never in all this time has she let me or Lois near enough to touch her.

Fast forward to this summer.
"Goldie" who I think is a boy, but who might not be, has been hanging around for a year, to the point now that  he really just lives here.   He is never gone for more than an hour.  And usually if you call to him, he comes out from some hiding place.

I really do think he is an older cat, and for some reason became homeless.

But he seems quite content to be here.  He also has a heated house in the barn, and regular meals.

One night I went out to close the outside gate to the chicken run...even though there is an automatic door on the chicken coop, I like to create one more barrier to intruders, so every night at dusk, I go out to close that door.

Goldie greets me and follows me, and throws himself down in front of me, to get some attention......and while I am scratching his ears, and petting him, I hear "meow, meow".

I look around, and BubbaLee is staring at me from under my car.  So I said, "well, come here then, if you want some attention".

And lo, and behold, after SEVEN years of being untouchable, here she comes.

So what has transpired in the last couple of weeks is this:

Any time you go outside, they are there, together.

They want to be loved.
And they are.

 They have something to say, and I listen.

They have decided that this is an ok, safe place, and it is.

They tolerate each other, but he defers to her every time.

She's the boss.
I think he's ok with that.

He is definitely more comfortable with me.

As evidenced by his ability to sleep at my feet.

I zoomed in here, and see that he doesn't have a lot of teeth.

But he thinks he likes TEA.

BubbaLee is not far behind him in feeling comfortable though.

Obviously.

 I don't think her teeth are in great shape either, so they split a can of cat food every morning, in addition to dry food all day.

Three inside cats, two outside cats.

And I always thought I was a "dog" person.

Guess all these rescue cats had other ideas.

This and that.

It's gone.

The AVL Home Loom with Compudobby.

I hated to see it go, on the one hand, but on the other, I was glad.

The bottom line is that treadling it was too hard for these old hips.
L and I were both lame from it.

We loved it otherwise, but it had to go.

The studio has morphed again.

This is the evening after, with things rearranged, and some cleaning done.
Funny, but I like it better.

When it's not too hot, I like to have lunch on the porch.

One of my faves, cottage cheese and tomatoes.

Sometimes Miss Puss comes out on the screened porch with me.

Sometimes, I have breakfast on the porch, plain yogurt with fruit and wheat germ.

Last weekend, I spent the day with two of my daughters, and their children.

It was the best of days.

I've been busy quilting an old quilt top that was given to me years ago.  It was hand sewn by some industrious person, so I put batting and backing on it, and quilted it using my free motion attachment on my Bernina.  So I think this old quilt will last a long, long time.

I've been weaving these, which can't be over soon enough.....blechh....don't like them.

L just finished a stack of these towels, and they rock.

Sydney wants to know:  do I have a double chin?????