Just a few words.

Washing my mother's hair, in the shower.  She is sitting on her shower chair, wash cloth to her eyes, head forward, while I lather up her hair.  She winces as the water hits her, even though I have taken great care to test the temperature.
It is never just right.  I try to accept that I cannot get this, like many other things, just right.

As I gently massage her head, I smell the shampoo, feel the silky suds between my fingers, and I imagine that this woman was once a little girl,  an adolescent, a teen, a young war bride, a young mother.  In those few moments, a kaleidoscope of images of her,  both imagined and remembered, transport me.
I forget that she has arrived where she is today.  I forget that her body is giving out, that now, she is not in so many ways the mother I have known my whole life.
I remember my Mom, the one who was always there for ME.

But then the shampoo, and the shower, are over.  She is stepping out onto the mat, and she starts to cry, frustrated that her recently broken arm still hurts her so much.
And the nurse in me, though I wish her gone forever, appears.
I assess, and question, and assess, and as patiently as I can, direct her to the exercises she has neglected, hand her the pain meds and the glass of water, as she tries to evade me.
But I am a good Nurse Ratchett, and I get it done.
I serve her a cuppa tea, and leave her to her TV.  This somewhat short exchange has exhausted me on a level I can't identify.
While I knew that it is a basic truth, that you are never ready to lose your mother, now I know even more, that you will always long for the mother you knew.

That's really all I have right now.

Update, and positive ions.

Just in case you were wondering.  Roy is the prince in this house.  He loves everybody, and everybody loves him.

When my middle daughter and granddaughter came to visit recently, he was quick to get all the attention he could.

He's a lover, that's what he is.

I am positive now that Eddie sent Roy, to ease the pain.  And that he does.   He is the sweetest boy ever. I can't believe that no one had snapped him up, just because he is SEVEN.
He is perfect, just the way he is.

Well, the OPEN HOUSE was quiet, much what I expected.  And that's OK.  The studio is clean, and looks great, and business is good.
I hate sitting around waiting for people to come anyhow.  Retail sucks that way.
I am so glad that retail walk in business is not what makes Crazy as a Loom sail.
Thank goodness.

I got some place mats done.  My inventory of them is down, so I need to keep working on them.

And I moved things around to suit myself, since I was pretty much the only one to please.

I love the sunlight in the studio.  I love the quiet.  There is incredible energy there.

And it's all good.

Speaking of good energy...........................here's a girl and her poppa.  Now tell me that's not pure good energy.

And the winner is......

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

48	

Timestamp: 2011-08-20 00:55:22 UTC

 

Frank's Corner......congratulations......except I am not so sure a cat can do this..........but hey, maybe you have help!!!!
Send me your address, and your kit will be on its way!!! And be sure to publish a picture of the finished product.  No pressure.
And thanks L, for the reminder.  I totally forgot.
Today's real post below!!!

Escape. To the kitchen.

Last night, while in a funk, I decided to cook.  I recently bought a cookbook that I have been dying to play with.

I am not fond of the veggie burgers sold in the supermarket.
So.........I made Sweet Potato veggie burgers with kale and lentils. Cilantro, garlic, curry, onion........oh, my.
The kitchen smelled wonderful.  And I made a huge mess, so I was doing dishes quite late.
Now I have seven of these burgers, one of which I will eat soon, and the rest I will keep/freeze for later, since I am the only one in the house who will eat them.
This book has so many recipes I want to try.   I just had to start somewhere.

Do you ever have those days when you want to run away???
Do you think anyone would believe that you would ever do it?
Would  you ever do it?
Can you imagine moving somewhere, to another state?   By yourself?  Starting your life over again, as if your old life had simply disappeared?
Tell me, do you EVER imagine that??????

Well, today was back to reality.  Getting the studio ready for the OPEN HOUSE.
Summer Harvest Festival whatever it's called.
So first off, I cleaned the porch, cause it was needing it, and that's where people come in, so it should look spiffy.

And I think it does, don't you??

And the back yard "dye mess" was next on my list.........all picked up, and stored neatly behind the shed.
For next time.

Inside, Lois and I both put stuff away, and  organized.......an ongoing event I'm afraid.  Then she vacuumed.
Busy morning, but the place looks really good, if I do say so myself.
And I do.
These are the sunflowers that my granddaughter and I planted several weeks ago.

They are easily 10 feet tall.

She will be pleased.

When I was very young and my first child was a babe, my mother's best friend just got up and left.
She packed her bags, and took off with a friend of hers, for parts unknown.   I think they went somewhere out west.  Everyone was horrified.  It was so unlike her, they said.
Apparently not, I thought.  Apparently it was EXACTLY like her.  Just not like the part of her that everyone was familiar with.
She was gone a year, maybe longer.
And when she came back one day just as unexpectedly, her husband acted to the world like she had just been gone on vacation.
The rhythm of their life picked up right where they left it.
She lived there with him for the rest of her life.
But I always wondered about that time.   What was she thinking? How did she feel?  Did it make her happy?  What made her come back?

Then there's the possibility that if you ran away, you would miss all the things in your life that drive you crazy.
Or would you?  Could you????

Maybe when we get to run away is at the end of our lives. Then we really get to let it all go, and not worry about any of it, and have NO responsibilities, and don't have to listen to anything mean or unkind, or disturbing.   Then, and only then, are we allowed to NOT GIVE A DAMN, and nothing, nothing hurts our feelings, or makes us feel bad.
At the end of our time here.

I don't know about you, but I'd just as soon run away, and not wait for that.
Just sayin'.

Drudgery and Humidity

That was today........"not such fun jobs" that needed to get done, and increasing humidity that made it uncomfortable to do anything.

These placemats were off the loom a few days ago.  You are getting photos of them now, because I was literally too busy to take any today.
We had to rethread the Toika in a straight draw........four feet across.

And we had to bring in all the fabric that was hanging outside, and roll it into balls.
All 65 lbs of it.

Can I just say that neither of these jobs were small?

In fact, they took L and I ALL DAY.
And we didn't even finish rolling up all the fabric.
Go figure.

Tomorrow it's clean up day,  getting ready for the Summer Harvest Festival Open House.  On Saturday and Sunday, the studio, and four other artisans' shops in the area, will be hosting this event.
Maybe I'll get some rest.

DH just purchased Boston Red Sox tickets, for a game in September.
Yay!!!!!

Dyeing is overrated.

Seriously.   Today, we finally got out to the dyeing 'pots', so to speak.
Wanted to dye 85 lbs, got 65 lbs done.  Enough for now.
It was a gargantuan task, and we were lucky to finish it.
I didn't attempt to do anything else.
Sometimes, it's good to know your limitations.

85 lbs of mustard with a green tinge.
Lovely.

And the cable didn't break.........yet.
So everything's good.

I also got a wholesale order today from Nova Scotia.......working my way around the globe.......slowly.

The packaging insert for the new kit is at the printer's, and we will we packing them up soon.

I came home and made chocolate zucchini cupcakes, recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod, and they were totally chocolatey wonderful.
My daughter stopped by on her way home, and we made two pizzas: a pepperoni mushroom, and one with spinach, garlic, feta, mushrooms, onions and red peppers.
My day has flown right by, and I am out the door now to take Roy for his jaunt.
Priorities, friends, priorities.

I love that you are all excited about my new project.  I can't wait to see whose name is drawn!!!


Sydney says:
It's my new favorite spot.
Dibs.

Sunshine in a Giveaway. Hmm.

I have been playing with my header, because I want to be BETTER at it.  I am grateful to Di over at
the Blue Ridge Gal  for changing them for me several times.  But I want to MASTER it.
Not sure that I ever will though.
I am so envious of her ever changing, to die for, banners.

I seem to be challenged in this regard.

I have a new idea for a kit.  It's going to be the Walking On Sunshine Rag Rug Kit.
So I had to actually MAKE it, so I could photograph it for labeling.
You would be able to WEAVE the rug with the kit, but I want to demonstrate that you can also braid a rug with the kit, if you don't happen to have a huge antique rug loom sitting in your living room.

I had already braided the strips together, while watching TV last night.

So today, I started the job of sewing the braids together.  I started with a piece about 10" long, for my center, this will make it an oval, and not a circle.
I can't believe it took me all day to do, with some interruptions, but then I realized.......this would be a "project" for someone.........not a JOB, like I make it.
So, it would be more fun, if it were more leisurely.
You get it???
I had to explain to myself.  Duh.

I do like the way it turned out though.  It is thick, and soft, and colorful.

You can see the woven version on my web site, www.crazyasaloom.com on  the Walking on Sunshine page.

It's done, now I have to work on the packaging and information.
Hmm, do I smell a giveaway????
I think I do.
A Walking on Sunshine Rag Rug Kit!!!!!!
All you have to do is comment.
You have until Friday evening.......6pm.
Out of the country, you have to pay postage.  Sorry, but postage can be brutal.

I leave you with what may be the next new invention from Crazy as a Loom..........the squirrel deflector.
Since we put this piece of stove pipe up there, we have NOT (knock on wood) seen Mr. Pig Face Squirrel stuffing his face even once.

Just sayin.

Not a day to dye. Apparently.

Rainy day in  northeast New York.
Lots of 'lounging around' at the studio.

You would think they worked hard, by the looks of them.

Sydney says:

When you look as good as I do, you don't have to work.

She knows how to pose herself, too.  That doesn't hurt.

Since the weather wasn't cooperating with my 'dyeing plans', I decided to weave placemats.
Need some autumn colors.

I was kind of glad it was raining.  Not only do I love the rain anyway, but it gave me a reprieve from the dyeing job that will probably take all week......
There is nothing more soothing than weaving on a rainy day.
LOVE IT.

I believe that random acts of kindness make us better.  Don't you think so?
I think that they get passed on.   It's kind of a natural thing.  It just happens.
Doing something that makes someone happy, something they don't expect, something you don't HAVE to do, just because.  It can be simple.  It can be more than simple.
Doesn't matter.
I think it makes us better than we were yesterday.

Isn't that what it's all about???

Let's party!!!

Yesterday was my middle daughter's birthday.  So we partied.

We do a lot of laughing, a lot of talking, a lot of eating.

My family rocks.  Seriously.
I am so, so fortunate.

Not only did I not break my neck, or fracture my skull this week, in spite of the odds, but I got to hang out with my favorite people.

I took a LOT of photos, these are just a few that jumped out at me.

It was a beautiful day, not too hot, with a nice breeze.  We had Indian cuisine for dinner, plus regular hamburger/hot dog fare for the unadventurous.

I have made lots of mistakes in my life.  I never kid myself about that.

But having my three daughters makes me a success story, let me tell ya.

It was the best thing I ever did.  

If I don't do anything wonderful ever again, that's enough.

I talk a lot about gratitude.  I try to take a few minutes, every day, to just look around me, and be thankful.  Sometimes it is the simplest of things that makes me smile.

These two ALWAYS make me smile.