My web site is back up.

New post:   http://crazyasaloom.com/what-a-difference-a-day-makes/

September is

Yup, my website is still down.  Every time I call I just get the same answer:   they're working on it.

Again, I'm asking myself why I do this to myself?  Is a web site really so important to me???  Does it make me a lot of money?  Do I like keeping it current??  Is it a serious source of customers?

The answers are no, no, and no.

There's more thinking I need to do on this.

Am I the only one who feels like they are in the twilight zone??   

I usually have a focus, I am usually on a schedule, of my own making, for sure, but a schedule nonetheless.   I am usually doing shows all summer, and so I'm selling things, then trying to replace them for the next show.  So I'm busy, in a good way.

Now, there are no shows, so I don't feel that I have to really make anything by any certain date.  So I feel somewhat untethered....at the mercy of whims.  I'm not used to it.  I don't really like it.

So I've moved furniture.  Cleaned cupboards.

I decided that I didn't need or want my stash of acid wash dyes, that are used to dye wool and silk.

They use heat....so you have to steam them in the oven or on the stove.

I hate the whole process....and since I don't dye wool, and I can dye silk the "cold" MX reactive dye 

way......I felt ok with getting rid of them.

 

So....57 lbs of dye left here today on their way to a wool dyer in Michigan.  I hope she loves 

them more than I did. 

Finished up the cauliflower fried rice, with some sesame garlic tofu and broccoli....yeah....it looks so healthy...but the truth of it is, I've been bad lately.......eating seems to be one of the most comforting things around.   I love to cook, and I love to bake, and being home all the time, with no particular goals in mind, it's more alluring than ever.

Then, of course, you have to EAT some of what you've made.

Oh, darn.

Why don't I care???

Well, truth is, I don't much care right now.  Maybe it will pass, but right now, I want to eat what I want, at least some of the time.

There's Covid.  There's racism, violence, there's global warming with fires and floods.  There is hate and division in this country like I have never seen before in my life.

There's such political upheaval, and more to come.

At home, DH is experiencing more and more health issues.  The latest is diabetic retinopathy, with injections in his retinas every two weeks.

I am stressed.  I know it, I feel it in every bone in my body.    I try to quiet my mind, meditate, stop the noise in my head.  

Some days that's just not so easry.

Having faith that everything is as it should be is much easier to say than to do.

I confess to using some retail therapy.........online of course......to make myself feel better.

After several attempts to use a cheap yarn winder, I finally treated myself  to a Schacht swift with a counter.

Expensive, yes.  But it's the CADILLAC of swifts.   I knew it from the moment I opened the box.

I did manage to dye some tussah silk milk with the acid dyes before I got rid of them.

This job was actually the clincher in my decision to do that.

But it turned out well.

Mostly orange, with a hint of red, purple and fuchsia here and there.....it's going on the AVL now.

I have had a slammer for the last couple of days.....they come and they go........I'll be assaulted by one for days and days, then they won't be too bad for a few weeks......

I never know when ...and so far, I still don't know why.....the mystery continues.   To be honest, it's the least of my worries.

What I do know, is that I love my family, and I am willing to put up with an awful lot to see as much as I 

can of my childrens' and my grandchildrens' lives.  

I want to see the grands grow up....I'll take every minute I can, to do that.

Headaches, well, they are just a part of it.

It's been  9 years now.......it sounds bizarre, but I'm pretty used to it.

And look at this face..........  there isn't a headache in the world big enough to keep me away from him.

The most joyful moment in my life is when I go to my youngest daughter's house, to see this one, and the 6 year old and the 3 year old come running at me, screaming "Mimi, Mimi" at a range that would break your ear drum, and throw their arms around my legs.

Priceless doesn't even begin to describe it. 

In spite of everything else going on, I'm still grateful.

And grateful for the good health of my partner and best friend ever, L,  who needs to get back to work.

Well, my web site is down, so I'm posting here, but who knows if anyone will read it here........

I guess we'll see.

I have been on the phone with the server for longer than I care to be, and they haven't fixed it yet.

Honestly, I am wondering why I bother.   Do I really need a web site.......?   I sell mostly off FB, from things that I post, or from people who order something custom.   And in the real world,  before 2020, I sold at shows........but the web site, ah, not so much.

So I am teetering on the brink of saying.....screw it.  I don't need you.

The summer has been productive, if stressful.

The barn is really gone....every last board of it.

I thought I might be sad, but I'm really not.  This is the view from the back porch.

It actually feels like we have a NEW screen porch.....because the barn used to be all that we could see, a mere 5-6 ft away.   

Here's a panoramic view of what my back yard looks like now........from the back steps.  Soon that will be grass to the right of the picket fence, and flowers, and relaxing places to read a book under the trees.

This has been a strange summer for squashes.  This is my take from all that work.  Disappointing to say the least.   I think next year, I will forego that particular garden plot, leave it to lawn, and go to the farmer's market on Saturday mornings.

I've been weaving pretty sporadically.....since there was so much work to do outside.   I have managed to get a few pieces done though.

This is cotton aloe stellina, hand dyed.

I have a new fave salad,  totally my youngest daughter's fault.  She got me hooked on it, and now I eat it practically ever day.

I'm going to give you the ingredients, in case you are so inclined.

A half of a big bag of kale, removed from spines and sliced into slivers.

half a bag of brussel sprouts, sliced thin.

large handful of craisins, large handful of nuts....I used walnuts.

Shaved parmesan.

Couple handfuls of arugula

The dressing is the juice of one lemon, and an equal amount of EVO.

It is better after it has been in the fridge a while, and it lasts for days, if you don't eat it all before then.

On the Louet, some green tea modal, hand dyed.

Some yardage.

After a muddy walk, then having your FEET  washed (humiliating) it's time for a nap.

And what Naya does, Willie does.  Period.

On the food front, again........I found another new fave.   Riced cauliflower.   It's in the freezer section.

I made this cauliflower fried rice....(there's no rice in it)......but it tastes JUST like fried rice......I am serious.

It is just plain delicious.

I don't know if I will make it any other way.

Recipe:  Pinterest.

The tomatoes did a wee bit better than the squashes did, so I roasted some and made tomato soup.

This is another piece of the green tea modal, with a different weft.

I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted, spent.

Too much politics, too much bad news.   I am tired of all of it....social distancing, wearing masks, the worry, the changes in our lives.

I know it doesn't matter, if I'm sick of it or not, as well as I know that I am certainly not alone.

I do the best I can, day to day.  I try to only go a few places.....I stay home.........

My days are so routine that if I change one thing, my dogs look at me like I am abusing them.

They are so creatures of habit.

Lois and I walk, every morning......2-3 miles.......then I work either in the studio, or in the yard, or in the house....there is always something that needs doing.  

I read.  I do the NY Times crossword.

I work.  I read.  I cook and sometimes bake.

I. Stay. Home.  All the time. :)

Do I sound like I'm getting a bit crazy????  Maybe.

Oh, and I take care of 31 chickens, and that's no joke.

And sometimes, I chill with a glass of wine, and I'm thankful for all I have.  For my home, and the safety and comfort of it.   I take a deep breath, and think about what I will do tomorrow.