Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Fiber, in no particular order

The Christmas tree is where my spinning bench was so I have to improvise. I put my wheel and chair where Sammie is and my "happy" light, i.e., S.A.D. light sits on top of the bar stool. It takes some time to set up and break down, and the change in routine makes the dogs nuts. Charlie saw it as an opportunity to once again stake the upper ground. The dynamics of our pets is a constant source of surprise and amusement.
These bumps are what I recently dyed. I've since spun the left bump and am interested to see what the right one looks like spun up. These are all destined to be hats. What doesn't make the Coop show this month will be ready for sale next season. It's all fun.
This is where our hay shelter ended up after the wind storm that left 32 homes burned to the ground and many badly damaged. Wind here is always harsh. Mark Twain coined it the Washoe Zephyr and said it keeps office hours from 2:00 in the afternoon until 2:00 in the morning - he was right. It's why I ran in the mornings before work all those years.

The winds in this last storm kept switching directions, making sure destruction was an equal opportunity destroyer. Our neighbor Fred told Ian at the Christmas party last Friday that he could salvage it. He'll take it apart, re-weld spots and anchor it for $200. Sold! He told Ian that his heart doctor asked him at his last pacemaker check-up if he had been welding again. They can see it on his scan. He asked his doctor to help him find a dental assistants chest x-ray protector. Is that a visual or what?!
I had to take a picture of Mickey. He was fussing from the time he saw me. What are you doing? Are you going to chuck my chin? Are you going to give me extra food. Whadda ya doin? He's not named Mickey Mouth for nothing.
Ornaments on our tree are very important to me. It takes me probably four or more hours to hang them because every one has its own story. I had commented on Amanda's blog about the woven ornaments she was gifting to friends. To my surprise, she emailed me for my address. A couple of days ago I received an envelope from Prescott, Arizona. I was scratching my head, but when I opened it, I realized Amanda had gifted me. Thanks Amanda! I will save it with the note and envelope she sent in and hope that someday I have enough understanding of weave structure that I can pass this on.

4 comments:

Amanda Cutler said...

Yay!!! It looks so good on your tree with your other ornaments!!! Glad you like it!

Benita said...

I was wondering if those winds that hit out west had gotten to you. I'm glad it is salvageable. I didn't know welding affected pace makers. Learn something new every day.

I love the colors of your wool and that will make very pretty hats.

And what a special gift. Now every Christmas you'll think of Amanda and smile when you hang the pretty woven ornament.

LA said...

The wind out west was certainly in the news recently...along with the wild fires! I'm just glad nothing too serious happened at your place! Aren't ornaments fun to put on the tree...each with their own story!

Laura said...

Aren't fur "family dynamic" fun! I'm dealing with farmsitting at a place with two resident cats, and my dogs. Harry, of course, could give a rip about cats. Lyra, however has been having a run of bad luck with cats deciding that she is lower than they on the totem pole, and is really afraid... Not a good thing for a pit bull. Since the more personable of the two cats has decided to take her on, I've been disciplining him - locking him out of the bedroom, booting his butt outside during the day (come on, it's warmed up!!).

Poor Lyra - she was so worried last night about him in the bedroom - that's when I locked him out... Of course there was much scratching on the door until I chucked a magazine at it!

Love your tree, and the new ornament! And I'm glad the hay shelter can be salvaged. Mount the legs in concrete, and it won't act like such a kite next time!!