A Day in the life.

I have tried getting Next and Nuff to come in out of the cold, but they are very resistant.

They like their boxes with the heated pads, the solar house.  They also go under the porch, although I can't imagine it's very warm under there.

And they eat well.   They are both pretty solid, and their fur is thick.

I still worry.

Lois has been busily weaving a custom order.  I wasn't thrilled about the customer's choices of colors, and I didn't hold out much hope of liking it, but I must say it has grown on me.
I now think that it is very striking.
L has come a long way in two years.   When she first came to Crazy as a Loom, she had no intentions of weaving right away, she just wanted to "help".
Now here she is weaving an 8 x 10 all by her self.
Impressive, right?
I must be a good teacher, but she is also very OCD meticulous, and most of the time she listens well.

 

It is a beautiful rug, and she has done an awesome job.  She had 20 shuttles wrapped with fabric, weaving them so that it "appeared" that they were random, when in fact, they were quite orchestrated.

Not easy.

I cut about 36 lbs of fabric for this venture.

(For you weavers, I figure .35 lbs per square foot of rug.)

 Then I pull the fabric towards me while "slitting" it with scissors.  It goes pretty fast, and I have cut so much fabric this way, that my precision is quite good.

On another front, I am re-warping for my next towel venture.  These will be waffle weave, one of my faves.
I used these little plastic pieces in each section, to keep my warp flat.  Aren't they cool?

How do you like my colors??  I am so done with orange.

 

So it was a busy, productive day at CAAL,  and even though I am still not staying ALL day, I am working on it.  

We had a great soup for lunch.....I guess you would call it vegetable rice. Mystery soup.  It was pretty awesome.

And perfect for a day with single digit temps.

 I could bitch about the weather.   Oh, yes, I could.  I could tell you how much I hate the cold.
But I have to focus on living with it, and to me, that means embracing the things that make it doable.
Weaving by the fire, lots of hot tea, homemade soups, good books, and lots of yarn.
And sunshine, all we can get.
Sunshine makes it all possible.

Beauty is how deep?

Remember Bubba Lee????  And her litter of five?  Well the gray and white kitty in the background, who is a little standoffish, is Humptey, one of Bubba Lee's babies.
He is very happy in his forever home with Moose and Lily, who are much more outgoing than he is.

And how about Bella, the kitten that my daughter saved from the prison parking lot.   She is also very happy in her new home, and very spoiled, too.   Or so I hear.

Sydney says:   "Who are they?"  

 

Miss Puss says:  "Pfft.  None of you are as beautiful as I am."

 

"Did someone say beautiful?"

 

It' time.

Today I decided to put the "Custom Rugs Considered" back on my web site.  I took it off last summer.
I think it's time.
I will say that I intend to be more selective about the orders I take.  If they sound like heartache, then they probably are.

Working with a customer to get just the right rug CAN be fun, and productive, and a huge success.
It should be.

Winter is soup as far as I am concerned.  I made my fave this weekend, and I will be eating it all week.  Here's the link:  http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/lentil-soup-with-sweet-potatoes-spinach/
I LOVE LOVE LOVE it, and it's easy to boot.
I did, however, add some cannellini beans, because I only had one cup of lentils.  And I was MUCH more liberal with the spinach, in fact, I put in the whole bag. 

And when DH and my mother are doing their carnivorous best, I make another fave.......a grilled raisin bread with cheddar and a thinly sliced granny smith apple.  You can put some Grey Poupon on it too, if you like.  It's the best.

I am a lover of bran muffins, but sometimes when you buy them in the bakery at the grocery store, they are a little dry.  I found this recipe on another blog, and decided to try it.
I did use OAT BRAN, because I had it, instead of wheat bran.
I DID leave the batter in the fridge, as specified, for 24 hours.

They were TO DIE FOR.  Can I just say, warm with a little butter?  OH MY.

Oh, and I didn't have raisins, so I threw in some Craisins.........delish.
Even DH thought they rocked.
You can find the recipe here:  http://www.twobearsfarm.com/2013/01/breakfast-is-easy-with-this-bran-muffin.html
You'll want more than one, so don't say I didn't warn you.

Roy says pffft to the bran muffins, but he just wanted you to know he is feeling a little better.

Parallel

(warning: pictures have nothing much to do with text)


I still think of my life as "wild and precious" even though it is pretty mundane.  I think it is all in how you perceive your life, and how much you dream. Your dream life can be pretty wild, and make your daily life all the more precious.
As I have been recovering from the brain and spine surgery, I have taken note of all the things in my life that make me happy, things I have often previously taken for granted.
Sometimes, it's the simplest of things.

My quiet house for a little while, except for Roy's snoring next to me on the couch, my mother gone to church with one of my angel daughters.  No noise, no TV, a clock ticking softly.  Soup on the stove, simmering.

A basket full of yarn calling me to knit, finally in my life able to meditatively savor the rhythm of my needles, without any guilt that I might be wasting time.

Money, not riches, but enough to shop for food, buy heat, put gas in my car, occasionally buy something fun, like a magazine, or more yarn, even go out to lunch or dinner.  They don't call it social "security" for nothing.  And a pension, that I worked hard for, and not worrying that I can't pay my way. Priceless stuff.

I am so fortunate, and I remind myself when I hear myself grumbling about someTHING or somgeONE that I find annoying.
I have my studio to go to every day, that place that sustains my creativity, and my joy.  I love to weave, it's true, but if I didn't throw the shuttle even once, I would still want to be there in that old house, with its golden light, and warm, wood floors.
But all my life I have been stricken with the worry that I couldn't do it all.  Crazy?
Probably.

But more than that, there was  the realization that I didn't have the time to live all the lives that I imagined.
I often, in my fantasy world, have imagined living in the country in England, or maybe France, baking bread in a wood fired oven, planting flowers.
Then again, I have always dreamed of living in Maine, carving out a life for myself there.
I believed, when I was in my younger years,  that when I was very old, I would somehow be sitting on my front porch, looking out over the water.
Maybe we all have lives like that, in our dreams, magical, imaginary other worlds.  Maybe they make us sad, or maybe they inspire us.  Maybe we will never actually live out any of them, but maybe we will.

"I continue to think about how paths not taken -because of choices we made in our present lives - may still be part of our story. Of how a second self, who made a different choice at that crossroads, is traveling in parallel to the present self, and how sometimes we sense it moving very close."

Maybe that's what it is, my parallel lives.  The ones I might have lived.  That other me.

Today I had lunch with other Chiari patients, two women who have had the same surgery as I have had.
We talked over lunch for two hours.
I am still processing it.
I am so glad that I went, and so grateful to have met them.

One thing that keeps reverberating in my head, is the observation that once your brain is opened up, you get "rebooted".......and when you wake up, you're not exactly the same person that you were before.
Finally.

Whatever you call it.

Misty, rainy, blah day.

 

My pup had to go to the vet's today.
Yes, my boy Roy has kennel cough.
Amazing, because it is a virus, and he hasn't been around any dogs, unless of course you count the dog NOT ON A LEASH, that charged him on the bike trail a couple of weeks ago, and bit him on the face.
I bet he was the culprit.  Him and his owner who apparently can't read signs.

 So Roy is on medication, and it makes him sleepy, and he looks at you with those sad eyes, and I hate it when he is sick.

 I stayed home most of the day, and did some work on my web site.

 

I have intended to put some of my finer hand wovens on my web site for awhile.  Well, finally, I got to it.

 Along with some mobius shawls, there are scarves, baby blankets, and DISH TOWELS, at least a few to start.

You can click on the link below to check it out.
I also sent out a newsletter with some SALES for January.  You knew about the newsletter, right?

  NEW PAGE

This is my fave scarf.
Wouldn't it go great with my silvery hair and black bling glasses???

My life is pretty boring.  My big plans (other than meeting my new friends for lunch tomorrow)
are making some lentil soup and some bran muffins.  And hemming some towels.

I like it that way though.  Quiet.  Boring.  Uneventful.  No drama.
Maybe getting older makes that more appealing, but appealing it is.
I have had enough excitement.
Now I want serenity, weaving by the fire, kayaking on a mountain pond, walking on a country road, rocking on the back porch watching the rain.
Peaceful, sweet.
Call it old age.
Or call it paradise.

It's Friday!!

I have to remember for next time, to remind everyone to only comment once for a giveaway.
When I realized that a few people had made more than one, I went back and counted the comments, and then went to Random.org.

And the winner IS.............that lucky Kate at Chronicles of a Country Girl.
So Kate.....just pick a Socketbook, any size, any color.

I think the next giveaway should be for a handwoven towel.........hmmm.  I have 10 in the washing machine right now.
Today, I was still weaving on my colorful warp, listening to classical guitar, and the fire was roaring.

You know I loved these colors, but on my 20th towel now, it's time for a change.

Next up, some blues and lavenders.  I'll show you tomorrow.

The consensus on the bird sounds was that they were woodpeckers drumming, sending messages back and forth.  Today I walked down that same road, and the noise was on the opposite side of the road, in the hardwood trees, and it was sharper and louder.  When I heard them the first time, they were in the tall pines.
That's it for the bird lesson.

Except for this hawk that's been perusing my bird feeders.

Beautiful, but deadly.

Like the flu.
How do you all feel about flu vaccines??  Did you all get one?
I'm dragging my feet.  Stubborn retired nurse.  You know the drill.

Amen.

 

Today was beyond nice, and it was so welcome.  There was an abundance of sun, and the temperatures were just brisk, in an almost refreshing way.

So L and I took some time off after lunch, and went snowshoeing.  We really did.
 I haven't used my snow shoes in a long time, but they are perfectly good.  I can't say as much for my poles, but they are easily replaced.
We saw lots of evidence of  deer in the area.
We didn't go down to this brook, in fact, I opted not to go down any real steep inclines.
You can't believe how sensible I'm being, right?
Well it IS the first time I've ever actually really had a hole in my head, instead of just being accused of it.

 

 L's leading the way.  Which is good, because then I can take pictures.

 Apparently there was a farm nearby years ago, and they dumped their old vehicle here.
Then someone else came along to add insult to injury, and shot holes in it.

It was so nice that when I came home, I changed my shoes and took Roy for a long walk.
So I guess I got my exercise today.

But I'm not too tired to throw the shuttle just a few more times, only because I'm intrigued with this crazy fuchsia color.

And then I'll call it a day.

As I was walking by the river, with the crisp wind in my face, it felt so good, and I was suddenly conscious of the spring of my step, my barely there headache, an overall awareness of being very much alive, and almost well.  More well than I've been in a long time.
And if my doctor had been there right at that moment, I would have hugged him as hard as I could.

I am so grateful that I found him when I did, and that he had the skill and the knowledge and the compassion that he needed, to do what he did.
Thank you, Dr. Rekate, from the bottom of my heart.

A little of this. And that. And a giveaway.

While walking yesterday, I heard these birds calling back and forth.  I couldn't identify them, I have no idea what they are.
So I took a video with my phone, and I am hoping that ONE of you will know, because it's driving me crazy.
And you know I don't have far to go.

It isn't the "chirping" birds, it is a noise that sounds like a woodpecker slowed way down, softer.  You can hear it at these second marks.
1,7,9,17,28,39

 It was 34 degrees today, just plain awesome.

I wanted to show you my new woven tags, for shawls, scarves and such.
I got them from Stadri Emblems
Thanks, Cait!  I love them.

 

For those of you who wanted my hat pattern.....I posted it under Projects.

Here is another shot of the hat, it is perfect for walking on frigid days.  Just be sure to use bulky weight yarn.

Holy mackerel! Time for a party, we just slid over the 400 followers mark.
Get your party mask on!

 So all you have to do is be a follower, and leave a comment.  Will randomly draw a name for a Socketbook giveaway, any size, any color,  on Friday evening, January 11th.

Just please tell me the name of those birds!