08.31.07
Eye Candy Friday
Once again I offer the obligatory Cat image….I’m mostly knitting blog after all!
08.29.07
Shaniko 2007
Yesterday the family crammed ourselves into my Yaris and made the 1.5 hour drive to Shaniko. I will be vending and teaching at the Shaniko Wool Gathering in 2 weeks and I needed to ‘touch base’ with the town to see where I will be teaching the sock dying classes.
A brief history…I visited Shaniko in June of 2006on the invite of a resident that maintains a weaver’s workshop there. I was kind of an artist in residence for the week. My sock machine meshes nicely with the town and early 1900’s era. Since there is no TV, radio or other distractions, we did alot of talking. I made the comment that they should have a Wool Gathering to celebrate the history of the town. (You see if there were no Shaniko there would be no Pendleton wool factory. Shaniko was the end of the line for the railway. All the sheep ranches brought their wool to Shaniko which was then moved by train to Pendleton.)
The town people (all 23 in the winter) took the idea of a Wool Gathering and ran with it. In two weeks the first Shaniko Wool Gathering will be held. So in a sense, I am a part of the committee…just from a distance.
The good news is I will be using the ground floor of the fire house. This is good because it isn’t outside and if I catch something on fire I’ll be at the right place. Unfortunately I did not get to see inside the wool barn. But after talking with the venue coordinators they decided to put me on the stage (gasp!). Initially when the venue was laid out, we decided to allow vendors a 10 X 12 foot space. But after actually standing inside the barn it was decided that 8 X 12 would allow for a better flow of customers. This created a problem for me as my booth is built around a 10 X 10 easy up frame.
So the kids visited the penny candy store, original jail
and the ice cream store. I sat and talked with Judith and Deborah about the gathering and we left via the town of Antelope. It was an interesting drive for the kids. 
We stopped at the Mountain Indicator and saw lots
of interesting rock formations. Finally back home at 5:30 we were whipped.
The heat and dryness of this area just sucks the life out of us. Check out KT’s hair. It will take weeks to get it back to normal. Both their faces are showing the effects of sun and chlorine pool water.
I am so happy we are going home tomorrow to our damp coastal climate.
08.27.07
Vacation part 1,2 & 3
Vacation is going along swimmingly…literally, swimmingly. The kids are well on their way to absorbing their annual supply of chlorinated water and unfiltered sunshine. The whether has been very nice here. Temperatures range from 49 at night to 90 during the day.
This year is so much better because KT has learned how to ride a bike and has become confident in the water. They take off several times a day on a bike or scooter ride in between swimming sessions. I learned a valuable lesson NOT to do while riding a bike. 
As the kids rode in front of me I thought what a nice picture. Both them independent, riding in these beautiful surroundings;
a picture, that is what I need, a picture. So I whip out the digital and manage to get the lens cap off while riding my bike. But wait, I cannot ride and look through the view finder. So I flip out the little viewing window and snap the picture. Here is what it looks like when you go careening off the bike path while trying to take a picture of your kids. 
Yesterday was the total de-stressing day. Rafting down the Sun River. Ang and Sct rented a canoe and we were on a raft. The 3 hours was a nice break from the daily grind or everyday life. It would have been perfect if the 3 rafts in front of us hadn’t had 16 college age kids that were noisy. They actually paddled over to the bank and 3 of them jumped off the bridge. I have to give these guys some credit, as they saw us float by before they jumped they saw the kids and said, “Don’t do as I’m doing….I am a professional”. Yah, right! They jumped and landed fine.
We ended the day with another trip to the pool and an evening watching the squirrel wars.
So far we’ve seen squirrels, deer, raccoons, rabbits and big honking ants. Today we’re off to the High Desert Museum.
08.24.07
Eye Candy Friday
I don’t know what it is with me and flowers but I just love to take close up pictures of them. This is a Hydranga living by my kitchen garden. I love the color and details. Enjoy
08.22.07
The circle is complete
The oldest daughter completes the circle. She is returning to her ‘home’ to teach math in the High School. Almost all of our young adults can hardly wait to leave our area. They see it as a backward town and want to move to the big city. We adults see it as an opportunity for them to go away to college and come back to bring their knowledge and experiences home to better the community. Very few do come back. There are not many employment opportunities. Even though Ang will be living 2 hours away, she will be communiting daily to teach up here. 
She grew up in the Pacific Northwest and graduated from our local High School. She completed her AA at our local Junior College. Mostly because we did not plan ahead and have $100,000 in the bank for her college education. She slogged through college at HSU, living sometimes on $5 a week for food. She secured her student loans, worked part time and succeeded in graduating with her BA in Math. She continued on the final year and graduated with her Teaching Credential as upper grade math teacher.
We cannot take credit for her success. She did it all on her own. It is my firm belief that an education ‘earned’ is one appreciated. Perhaps this is my excuse for not paying for her college but I know Ang is empowered by the knowledge she did it all herself.
I will admit, with misty eyes, I am proud of my two oldest children. They are 
independent, gainfully employed and successful in their chosen professions. Very proud indeed….
A side note on Roz Savage’s attempt to row across the Pacific….She added a pod cast today to her web site. She capsized twice in the past 24 hours. You can hear a bit of strain in her voice. Check it out here…
http://www.rozsavage.com/?xjMsgID=35960
And wish her luck.
08.21.07
What’s important in life?
This morning, as I was working out, (actually just barely breaking a sweat) I was pondering what my soon to be free time will be filled with. As we get closer to school starting I’ll again be at home by myself (a wonderful thought!). Because I will be on ‘vacation’ for a while I’ve finished all the auctions on EBAY and put a notice up that any orders will be shipped on September 4th. This small thing, the typing of these few words, has given me a release I was not expecting. No yarn dying, no sock knitting, no deadlines or trips to the post office. What happened next was unexpected….the question popped into my mind while I was working on the ab reduction devise (also known as sit ups)….what is important in MY life?
Is dying yarn important, is making socks important, is knitting, accumulating fleece, carding wool and spinning important? Is mastering the techniques needed to operate my flat bed knitters important?
OR….is a clean house, meals that are actually thought out and made taking more than 30 minutes important? Is all the laundry washed, folded and (gasp) ironed and hung important? Is the fact that we can walk the 60 steps to the garden and harvest our dinner important? Is trips to the beach, river and park important? Is scrapbooking all those pictures of my children’s accomplishments so they can look back fondly at piles of scrapbooks and see they did have a ‘good’ childhood important? Hmmmm….
I’ve found that there are actually two ways of thinking about the above issues. What is necessary for the health of my mind and soul, (that would be all the items in the first paragraph). What is important in the lives of my family (that would be the second paragraph).
I think I need to find a happy medium between what I want to DO and what I NEED to do as a stay at home Mom. So the answer to ‘what is important in life’ is not an easy one. If it was just me, alone I could do whatever I wanted, have 29 cats and never leave the house and be buried in partially completed knit projects and bags of dirty wool fleeces.
But it is not just me. I am a mom and wife. I have ‘responsibilities’ and things that have to get done. I’ve chosen (well my health does not permit me working actually) to stay at home and the DH has chosen to have me here. Yes, I am a kept woman and do feel guilty, frequently, about the state of my house (messy) and laundry (unfolded in piles in the laundry room) garden (weedy and not planted this spring) meal plans (what are those?) I’ve indulged myself for the past 6 months doing basically whatever I’ve wanted, knit, spun, felted, dyed….to hell about those other things. Maybe I’m in a kind of a mid life crises (I thought I’d passed that with the tattoo, maybe not!).
For 26 years I’ve taken care of the 5 other members in the family….the past 4 months have been my time and I’ve selfishly protected my time in my ‘fortress of solitude’, my studio. But I’ve neglected the family. A happy medium, that is what I need. I’m not sure weather that means having a ‘work’ schedule and a ‘mother’ schedule and doing house and yarn on specific days. The whole idea of tackling the house and ‘chores’ seems daunting. I would much rather be dying yarn and knitting.
What is important in MY life? All the above things are, some are necessary for my sanity and some are necessary for my life. So today, as I make phone calls setting up plumbers, electricians and rain gutter people, I’ll think about what I’m doing and how to mesh these two important parts of my life together so everything gets done.
Someone said the most difficult job in the world is that of a Mother. I second that notion!
08.20.07
Fall Shearing
This past Thursday was shearing day at Riyescott Ranch. It went quickly without much fuss or bother. All 24 were sheared in about 2 hours. The fleeces are bagged, labeled and ready for washing. Thanks to Linda for the gift of one bag of wool. As soon as I get my Drum Carder I will start processing it.
Before
The girls waiting patiently for shearing were very well behaved.
During
The shearer was fast without too many second cuts. I don’t understand how they can bend over so much. My back hurt just watching.
After
The pile of wool ready for the washer. Makes you want to sink your hands in it doesn’t it?
Rainy Day Yarn Club Update….
I’ve exended the final sign up date to September 15th. That will get me past the start of school, deer hunting season and vacations.
Go here to get the particulars.
08.17.07
Eye Candy Friday
If you are interested in following along on a solo attempt to row across the Pacific, check out this site. She left from our Crescent City harbor last week and has a very cool site that she posts to daily. She also has a tracking option. This eye candy Friday picture is from her posting today. Enjoy
08.14.07
Random Tuesday
Five blankets, 3 pillows, two sleeping bags and a flashlight. We grabbed these items, walked past the pond and out into the yard. The sleeping bags were spread on the ground and we lay down covering ourselves with the blankets and stared up into space. It was 11 p.m. and we were just in time to see the tiny dot of a satellite pass by. We’ve been seeing this same satellite pass for the past 18 years at the same time. I’ve always wondered which one it is. Staring up into space and laying on the grass in our front yard the kids settled down and watched. I know our neighbors thought we’ve definitely lost it this time. It was quite. We could feel the warmth radiating up through the ground from a full day of sunshine. In the distance we could hear the Battery Point fog horn and the low constant rumble of the ocean in between the swish of cars traveling faster than the 65 mile speed limit on 101.
The night before DJ and I just stood in the driveway with our backs against my Yaris and our heads leaned back on the top of the car. It didn’t take very long until we had creaks in our necks so last night I decided upon the blanket on the ground approach. It was one of those times you know the kids will remember. Mom doing another weird thing but it is those moments that reflect my personality. We had a short lesson on the stars, saw Mars and the big dipper and waited…..stared….were silent. Then it started the meteor shower. 
Flashes of light streaked across the sky. Not a lot, just about 60 per hour the paper said. The previous night DJ and an I saw this huge streak. It went from one side of the sky to the other with the tail burning the image in our brains. It was actually kind of scary. Last night was suppose to be the best. We saw about 6 ‘falling stars’ then the fog came in. We were only out there for about 30 minutes, left the sleeping bags and brought in the blankets. In my mind it was a bust but the kids are talking about it this morning. A summer memory, the summer memory this year. I can hardly wait for the full eclipse of the moon 
on the 28th of August. We’ll be in
Next I purchased an electric skein winder. It was a splurge and not absolutely necessary. The kids are happy to wind yarn to help pay for extra toys I normally wouldn’t buy for them. But this will make winding balls for dying faster and less stress on my wrists. I’ve developed the dreaded carpel tunnel syndrome and know I am headed for surgery. Next I’m reading Anna Karenina by Tolstoy.
A huge undertaking I realize as I try to prop this big book up on reclining self. I only read before bed and know this will take me quite a while to finish.
Next
For the past 2 years I’ve been thinking about taking my yarn to Juniper Fiberworks in Bend
Next
Calypso is assimilating into the family nicely. She has learned not to climb on the dinner table with the help of a squirt gun. Only took two times of squirting her in the face and she now runs the other way whenever we sit down to dinner. We’ve have no accidents, mostly thanks to KT who has been diligent in depositing her into the ‘potty box’ whenever she sees Calypso walking through the house. She has also discovered her scratching post that the kids absolutely insisted I purchase. Unfortunately her sister, Twilight, did not make it.
She died 4 days after we got them. She was very small and just too frail.
08.10.07
La Tourista Has Arrived
When talking to people who live on the pacific northwest coast one of the common complaints you hear is there are no seasons. The weather does not vary much in fact the temperature stays, on average, between 52 and 65 degrees. But I beg to differ. We are in the 4th of 5 seasons here….
Rainy
Foggy
Tourist Season
Bike Season
Tourist season is not found on a calendar. It does not come at the same time every year. In fact some years it does not happen at all. This year we’re having an especially intense tourist season…I like to call it. La Turista
There are 3 definite signs that La Turista has arrived:
1. An increase in the gas prices. Unleaded gas has been at $3.39 for the past 5 weeks.
2. An increase number of people walking around wearing layers of every piece of cold weather clothing they own. You can tell tourists from locals because we wear coats only when the temperature dips to the 40’s. We also don’t use umbrellas…why? It rains sideways so you’re going to get wet anyway.
3. Motor Homes, Trailers and campers…so many you cannot cross 101 when driving out of the grocery parking lot. You must drive ‘with’ the traffic and detor an additional 3 miles just to get home.
We’ve lived in Crescent City for 18 years and I forget that we live in a tourist destination. Scenes like this
…
are common place when driving north from Eureka to Crescent City. We have signs on the road that say ‘Watch for Rocks’ and ‘Elk Crossing’ but what we need are signs that have a red circle with a line through a picture with a person standing in the middle of the road with a camera.
Nothing will get your heart beating faster than coming around a blind corner to see a row of motor homes lined up with men (it’s always men (( “go ahead honey, just pop out to snap a few” she says while sitting inside looking out through the windshield)) taking pictures of the bulls having their early late afternoon meal.
We live here because the rewards are many, the air is clean, the crime rate is low, the kids grow like weeds and it is green….everywhere is green. ( I suppose if you hate green you would not want to live here.) Here is this morning’s sunrise….
And as you can see, the pumpkins are coming along nicely (I mark each child’s name on a pumpkin when they’re small so we know who is who’s)
The sunflowers are almost through blooming and the bumble bees will have to find someplace else to sleep at night.
So as I sit on my front deck, watching the koi eat their breakfast I wish you could join me, have a cup of coffee, bring your knitting and breath in the fresh air. Ahhhhh…..
Knitting Update…
OK, on to the important stuff…knitting. Here is a picture of one of the newly felted bags that I’m making for the Shaniko Wool Gathering. 
I’m using Columbia Ranch wool which is sheared from sheep that are directly descended from the original Columbia stock. You can go here for more info on these sheep. These bags will be dyed today and dried. I will add beads and lining and they will be ready to go with me to the Wool Gathering. I know, they aren’t much to look at now but wait until they’re done! I’m actually keeping track of the pattern and plan to publish it in the Flat Bed Knitter Yahoo group when I’m done.
It being friday and me having not offered the obligatory cat image for a while…here is Pumpkin , I don’t think he has forgiven me for pulling all his teeth or adding the new kitten to the family.