06.27.07
Posted in Redwood Living at 6:53 pm by Lynette
Unleaded Fuel is currently $3.49…so much for the ‘national average’!
So it is summer and there are 68 days until school starts. This is the first summer my two youngest have been at home with me since they started school. I have kid droppings all over the property and I’ll be darned if we haven’t had TWO cars drive up into the drive looking at the house. I called the realtor 3 weeks ago and told her to take it off the market.
Why would our house still being on the market be such an issue for me. I’ll refer you back to the above stated past absent concept of (cue the big music…)
kids at home during
summer
summer
summer
summer
summer……
First we have these..Truly god sent items. 
They’ve made a track thru the garage, onto the driveway, up the sidewalk. They’ve been ridden through the kitchen, onto the fairly new pergo and out the door.
And why, WHY do they need to go in and out of the house, slaming the door….we actually call them the swat team the way they run in the house and back out.
The dog is so confused and the cat just sits on the step watching them go by.
Next we bought these
. A set of 15 water guns. What was I thinking? I’ve been squirted in the back, in the kitchen, comming out of the bathroom, while doing laundry and while watering the garden. Apparently they did not realize the power of MOM with a hose. My squirt was much bigger than theirs! I’ve stepped on them at night, ran over one with the mower and had one in the dryer.
Another trip to Wally World for these…
565 different bubble wands for the 
low price of $2.99. We’ve tried them all out….we’ve had bubbles floating up over the redwoods, in the fish pond, on the dogs back, even inhaled by mistake. In fact the other night the DH and I took to sitting on the deck as I blew bubbles….the kids were in the house.
Today was building the hidden base. 
Perhaps the operative work “hidden” was missed by the youngest. This is her idea of a hidden base. I knew those CostCo tables would come in handy for some reason.
And the final, absolute reason the idea of prospective house buyers scares the absolute poo poo out of me…
Hold on
I’m so glad my Mother doesn’t have a computer
Are you ready?
Here you go.
It’s OK to scream, I know I have a couple of times today!
Remember, only 68 days to go…..
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06.26.07
Posted in Redwood Living at 8:10 am by Lynette
After recovering from the trip to Eugene and the Black Sheep Gathering I’ve paused and taken another look at the weekend. As has happened in the past, my expectations of the venue were not met and I feel we made the right decision to leave Eugene without vending. (Besides the fact we could find no one who would tell us where we were suppose to be!)
The name, Black Sheep Gathering, gave me visions of buildings full of cottage business, vendors like myself. I saw this trip and vending as a peek into what is ‘out there’ in the small fiber business community. In actuallity what we found were 3 buildings full of commercial vendors selling yarn and roving that anyone can purchase in their local yarn shop or online. It was dissapointing to say the least to not find a single vendor, in about 60 of them, who were selling products from their own sheep or yarn that they had dyed themselves.
On the flip side, we would have been unique. Dressed in our vintage 1900’s costumes, me working on the sock machine and Linda chatting up the customers would have provided attendees with a different view of the fiber arts cottage industry. But, I’m afraid, those attending were looking for the commercially manufactured yarns and roving, the deal, something on sale, cheaper then they usually pay. My products, not known in the knitting community but with a small following, would have been passed over because of their lack of label recognition.
When figuring up the costs of lodging for 3 days, $300 the price of the venu $90, meals $100, gas $100 and other expenses $50, plus the fact we would have been outside in the wind, and the fact NO ONE KNEW WHERE WE WERE SUPPOSE TO SET UP….we did the right thing.
So where does this take me? Once again I am looking at narrowing my vision, accepting venues where my products will be unique and not blend in with the crowd. I’ve also decided (after a long discussion with a friend who has an EBAY store) to restock my inventory in my EBAY store and on ETSY. Of course I still have almost all my yarn, socks and other items on Connected by a Thread. Even though managing inventory on 3 internet sites does take up a bit of my time, it is worth having my items in various locations. As to the fact that my yarn….Rainy Day Yarns… does not have name recognition in the big pool of hand paint yarns, maybe one day one of the bloggers I read will check it out and post the link. But I guess I should be careful what I ask for!
Purchases from Black Sheep.
I will say I walked through those 3 buildings three times and could only come up with two fiber related purchases. One was a pattern for a sweat shirt alteration that I purchased just for the sheep cutout pattern. The other was this hank of beautiful merino/tencel. 
I’ve been spinning and have 2 plyed some yarn. Now what to do with it? Finally I purchased a pair of beautiful Amber earings. I’d watched a show on Discovery last week about Amber and since then had been wanting some. 
What were the chances that I would find a vendor at Black Sheep Gathering that had Amber earings?
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06.23.07
Posted in Festivals and Vending at Shows at 7:07 am by Lynette
Well the long and short of my trek to Black Sheep is…we didn’t vend.
But I did take a few (very few) pictures and here you go.
A walk through the animal barn gave alot of good information. I especially liked this board which showed the fleece and what it looks like after spinning.
Lots of very nice sheep…here is Linda doing the big naughty…petting a sheep! (When you walk in the barns there are signs that say do not pet the animals). Actually this was one of her lambs that were being shown by it’s new owner.
I saw this - gotta love that roman nose.
There were lots of these, Jacob Sheep with nice sets of horns…
and the reason for the whole Black Sheep Gathering is this…
and this…
Finally this very nice needle felted wall hanging.
Monday I’ll post what I bought.
Today I have to make a few calls to see if I can still get in the Artists 4th of July show/vending at the Cultural Center. Since not vending at Black Sheep I have to drum up some business. I’m also going to check out the Farmer’s Market this morning and see what that traffic is like.
Oh well, the best plans are often not reality.
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06.21.07
Posted in Festivals and Vending at Shows at 7:42 am by Lynette
Today begins the trek up to Eugene Oregon for the Black Sheep Gathering. I’m loaded… (with stuff to sell 
and finishing up the final mom things before leaving the Haven of Bliss to the DH and kids.
The list I’m leaving of ‘things I do every day and if you know what is good for you, you will do them’ is long. Dishes, laundry, feed the fish, cat and dog. Oh yes and the most important thing is Thrasher. He is not feeling well. Actually it wouldn’t surprise me if he passed on to the big ginny pig garden in the sky this weekend.
Now don’t laugh but I actually took him and the son to the vet yesterday. Yes, I took a ginny pig to the vet. In fact we learned alot and found out that he probably has scurvy. So after alot of directions from said vet, new food, vitamin C drops a shot (ouch!) of vitamin C from the vet and a clean cage we’ll see. But as I said above, I’m afraid there will be a funneral this weekend. It will be sad, I’ll be glad not to be here. The DH deals better with the death of animals than I do. Funneral, flowers and a nice box in the back yard. Let’s hope not but….we’ll see.
OK, back to happier things…I’ve got my 3 costumes made so I can dress up in the 1900’s style (note the picture below? See how those people have shorts on? And I’ll be wearing 4 layers of cottong fabric, long skirt, petticoat etc. I’ll be hot!)
60 pair of socks, yarn, roving, kits, sock machine…just about everything in the Fortress of Solitude (aka my studio). I’m ready…I think.
Have a good weekend and I’ll post pictures as we trek up north.
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06.18.07
Posted in Redwood Living at 11:59 am by Lynette
My youngest asked me the above question yesterday on the way home from a baseball tournament. I had to think….a long time….I came to the realization that I’ve never done anything crazy, wackie or in th lease bit dangerous IN MY WHOLE LIFE. How boring my life has been. But after thinking about this for the 2 hour ride home I came up with these few things that could, in the broadest sense, be catagorized as ‘crazy’ by some.
#1. Met and married my husband in 7 weeks. (we’ve been married 26 years this month.)
#2. Talked the above mentioned husband into getting a ‘reversal’ after 9 years because I wanted 2 more kids.
#3. Went into business with a person I warned my other friends to avoid. (big mistake there, it lasted 1 year and cost me $10,000 to get out of the business!)
#4. Took a looooong lunch, met a co-worker at a bar, drank until 4 pm and drove home. (I don’t remember the drive home at all.)
#5. Left work on Friday afternoon, drove to San Francisco airport, flew to Hawaii on a trip paid for by my Travel Agency employer. Ditched all the activities I was required to attend and flew home on the red eye Sunday night.
That’s it, that’s all I can remember. What a boring life, or maybe safe is a better word. Just call me June Cleaver.
Knitting update:
Well, really not knitting up a new product listed today at Connected by a Thread.
This is a Paint your own Sock Yarn kit. I purchased these clear paint cans from a scrapbook store and had the idea to assemble a kit. You get 2 skeins yarn (one in a skein one knitted in a blank to paint your yarn), three pots of Ashford dyes, two samples of Soak Wash, complete directions on how to dye your yarn. All are inclosed in this very nice clear paint can. It would make a great gift for any sock knitter you know or just a fun introduction to the art of hand painting yarn for yourself.
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06.14.07
Posted in Redwood Living at 10:16 am by Lynette
Today is the last day of school and the kids are psyched. They actually got up on time, brushed, ate and were sitting in the car waiting for ME at 8:00. Will wonders never cease!
Here is the 6th grade graduate holding his official certificate. We are very proud of his accomplishments this year. He has learned how to ‘deal’ with his ADHD in the classroom setting and I’m sure will do fine next year in Jr. High.
Graduating Colors:
If you remember I’ve been trying out different techniques for dying sock yarn.
Step one: after knitting the blank on the FBN I dye it using a hand paint method.
Step two: Set the dye, dry and wind into a ball. (The above dyed cloth is the Lower left ball)
Step 3: Knit the socks, press and label
You’ll notice from each blank I knit I get two pair of socks that are variations on a theme. This way no two pair of socks are the same. Very cool if I do say so myself!
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06.11.07
Posted in Gardening, Knitting, Redwood Living at 8:36 am by Lynette
It’s Monday here at the Haven of Bliss (If you never seen this movie it is a good rent, one of our favorites!), the last week of school for the two youngest (and I guess you could also say the oldest since she is now a teacher :-). My day is full starting with a trip to the gym then on to deliver lettuce, purchase groceries and knit a shawl on my Silver Reed.
I’ve started going ( or you could say returned to) our local ladies fitness center. When I was in the aggressive weight loss mode I went 3 times a week and monitored everything I ate. I lost 45 lbs over 9 months but then I got sick. I was always battling a sinus infection or bronchial thing and I thought the problem was I was exposed to all that recycled air and germs in the gym. So I stopped going and everything has slid south (think gravity and rising bread dough and you get the picture). Now that I’ve got my illness under control (between my 3 doctors and I we’ve figured out the right cocktail of medication {my friend would call all the meds I take a crutch but that is what gets me through the day!}) I have been infection free for the past 6 months. My goal for going to the gym has nothing to do with getting in shape but it would be nice to stop the slow and inevitable slide south of everything below my neck that having 4 kids by c-section seems to have resulted in. I only want to increase my fitness level so I can make better use of the oxygen I breath in.
Next I’ll deliver 8 bags of organic lettuce. One of the things my kitchen garden does very well is grow lettuce. I planted 24 plants a couple of months ago and they are ready to harvest. I’ve asked around and there are no takers among my friends so I’m donating it to Our Daily Bread.
(This is ‘Mr. I’m so happy to have my picture taken’.)
A few years ago I was the local organizer for a movement called Plant A Row for the Hungry. It encouraged local gardeners to plant a bit extra and donate fresh veggies to food banks in their area. I used to give my extra to our food bank. I even volunteered to help distribute food boxes just to complete the circle in my mind. I was amazed, astonished, angered that some of the people who received their food boxes actually stood at their cars, rummaged through the box and tossed, threw, trashed my lettuce before driving off. I couldn’t believe it, that was MY lettuce, the lettuce I started from seed and loveingly transplanted into the garden. I remembered the nights I walked through the garden with a flashlight and gloved hand picking slugs from the plants. Watering and caring for 60 days resulted in ungrateful people throwing it in the trash for the crows to eat. I was speechless. Did they toss those extra large pies and cakes donated from CostCo? No, of course not! Now my extras to to Our Daily Bread, they serve meals 3 times a week. At least I know it will be served to someone.
The least favorite ‘chore’ of being a stay at home Mom is grocery shopping. I can say I hate it. It is such a waste of time, you buy it, they eat it and you have to do it all over again, kind of like laundry. It is a necessary element of life and even though it really only takes me about 30 minutes to do it when I’m in the groove, I still hate the time to unload and stock the kitchen. I would much rather be knitting. That brings me to the last thing on my list.
Today, being Monday, I’ll knit another shawl for sale on my Silver Reed. I purchased it to help with dying yarns and it does a great job knitting blanks for that purpose. Last week I decided to try something different and this was the result.
There are purists out there who will consider using a flatbed knitter as cheating. I still knit by hand every day. But you cannot beat the consistent stitches and professional look you get by using the hand operated machine to knit a shawl in 6 hours.
So onward and upward into the day.
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06.08.07
Posted in Redwood Living at 11:01 am by Lynette
I was a dying fool yesterday and here is some of the results
Upper left Summer Sunset
Upper Right Amarillis 
Lower Left Wild Flowers 
Lower Right Redwood Trees 
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06.07.07
Posted in Redwood Living at 8:14 am by Lynette
Things change. This is one of the songs sung in the youngest school play this week.
It was her acting debut and I must say the 3rd graders at Pine Grove Elementary are very talented! KT has been singing and wanting the center of attention since she could climb up on a stool in the center of the living room. I can remember having her in her footie jammies, disposable diaper making those crinkling noise, pulling the step stool to the center of the room, climbing up and starting to ’sing’. Mind you she could not actually speak but we were required to watch and applaude. (In fact if we applauded too soon she would stomp her small foot and give us a not yet look). So she has been waiting for the 4 years she’s been in school for a play. As I said above, they did great. KT sang, danced and spoke her lines with gusto. I’m sure this was the beginning of many metal folding chair evenings.
Next…
Pumpkin is recovering fine. Our 9 year old outdoor kitty had to have his teeth pulled this week. Last year he was attacked by something, probably a opossum or fox. He had a nasty injury on his back and it took quite a while to heal. But that injury injected bacteria into his system that settled in his mouth. The good news is they left his canines and he is doing fine.
Next…
Flowers bloom on their own time schedule around here also. I have this large bulb (I cannot remember the name) that normally blooms around Christmas. Well, it is blooming now. Not only is this one out of sync with it’s usual blooming schedule but the Rhodies that normally bloom around Easter are just now finishing up.
Next…
Baseball is almost over. One more game tonight and we’re done. It is with mixed feelings we finish this year. We’ll end in 2nd place but that really isn’t saying much. Our competition has been less than challenging. The kids have grown and learned alot about the game. We’ve enjoyed their wins and been sad about losses (like last nights that was just plain ugly).
Next…
I received my shipment of Soak yesterday. This is a wonderful new fiber wash that comes in 4 different scents. This is a bonus for all those folks who are allergic to eucalyptus like me. I’m posting the new products on the web store tomorrow.
Finally…
We’ve taken the house off the market. We’ve decided to remodel the kitchen over the winter and do a few other minor cosmetic upgrades. We’re going to have the 
breaker box rewired (believe you me, this breaker box can send a 250 pound electrician screaming into the night) and get a pest report….we’ll review the possibility of selling next spring when, hopefully, the market rebounds.
That’s it…..enjoy your day!
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06.06.07
Posted in Redwood Living at 10:50 am by Lynette
My Ten Names
1. YOUR REAL NAME:
Lynette Joyce Stoops
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first three letters of your name, plus izzle)
Lynizzle
3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three of your last)
L~Sto
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (fav color and fav animal)
Red Calico
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, Street you live on):
Joyce Fernwood
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 3 letters of mom’s maiden name)
Sto Ly Mei
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (favorite color, favorite drink)
Red EggNog
8. IRAQI NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, any letter of your middle name, 2nd letter of your moms maiden name, 3rd letter of you dads middle name, 1st letter of a siblings first name, last letter of your moms middle name)
Yojerae
9. STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/body spray)
Red Dior
10. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother & father’s middle names)
Florence Warren
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