Noah

Ian and Mission High School, from Dolores Park. Please indulge me. We took a four-day weekend to spend with our kids in San Francisco. Can I help it that the weather was absolutely perfect - for one day and just this day only?!
Noah is pre-
occupied with the bandaid on his hand, but Mom has a smile for us. This day, this moment in this park is the only spring that we have had this year. I'm feeling pretty giddy.

He's such a boy. But he's still got plenty of room from Grandma. We started this day with a visit to the yarn store, and continental knitter that I am, we ended up with what he calls his "blueberry."
And had has plenty of room for Papa. The racket is so he can hit balls for Papa to chase - or so he thinks.





Noah's "blueberry."

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I love this yarn store- it is huge and has tons of atmosphere, not to mention all the different yarns to chose from. I left with only one bag and spent more than I had expected, but I did get some really pretty baby sweater yarn!

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This is the Flood building and our view from Nordstroms where we took Little Sharon and baby Noah for lunch today. San Francisco is all about food. Beryl is right - we are staying in the Mission District and my tree picture was a block from Dolores Street and a block from the historic Mission. Life is good.

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When in San Francisco one must eat ethnic, as part of the experience. This is Sushi Boat. You sit around the island with the chef in the middle, who keeps the sushi coming around on little floating boats. You take what you want. Who knew you could overeat sushi?!

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We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto!

Now We Are Three

Our small hand spinners flock just got a little smaller this morning. For the last three years, our black wether George, has bloated and been lethargic with the small amounts of grass that manage to survive long enough to be eaten. The other boys don't seem to be affected. Ian thought George was close to being back on his feet last night, but a cold front blew through yesterday, dropping temps this morning into the low 20s. I just don't think George had the stamina to weather the weather. When Ian checked on him this morning, he had just died. I had to help Ian load George into the truck. He took him up into the hills to a spot that he likes and gave him back to the earth. I know it means the coyotes will eat him, but somehow, it seems right.

I grew up on a farm and thought I was good with the whole thing. I mean, we knew it might happen. But within an hour I was physically sick. I have lots of sick leave and I decided that using a day of it today was prudent, since we're headed to San Francisco to see our kids in two days. I'm also hoping to be able to hook up with Sylvia. We've swapped cell phones numbers and just need to see what transpires.

I was feeling restless and blah so decided that the best medicine would be to go up and clean my studio. I blended some fiber to spin for bags, threw more stuff out, put stuff away and shelved magazines and books. Charlie was happy to keep me company and I was happy to have his company.


Charlie often will stay with me in the studio. Not so much Buster. He must have sensed my feelings because here is, not actually in with me, but still with me. I decided to wind a solid color warp and try to weave a couple of tea towels in a twill pattern. I've never done it and it's about time. There's nothing quite so zen as winding a warp. It was the prefect activity.

Where we live

If you leave Reno, Nevada and drive north toward Susanville, California, thirteen miles after you pass Hallelujah Junction, you'll see a sign for Red Rock. That's where we live. Red Rock Valley is a geographic designation on a USGS map, and it's home to us. We are on the cusp of California and Nevada - so we get pretty without having to pay California state taxes.


The closer you get to our turn-off from Highway 395, the more red the rocks appear. This was an acknowledged route to overland travelers, dating back to the westward migration over 150 years ago.
The loveliness of these out-
croppings thrills me even yet, but the road scares me to death. I still quail at driving on a two-lane road, 70 miles an hour into oncoming traffic and I get passed all the time, like I'm driving too slow.
This is a partial view of Red Rock Valley - it's really big - but it's the view westward that we have from our living room. Sometimes when I'm at the gas pump, I wonder what on earth we were thinking when we moved so far away from our jobs. But then I think about how short life is, and I ask my myself what I lost when I gave up disposable income for meals out after work. We live in vacation land every day. What did we lose??

I'm absolutely thrilled - my neighbor Mim has started blogging. She says she was driven to it by my blog of Zephie, her little lamb born in a great Nevada wind. Another Shetland shepherd!!

Spring Flounders, I Think

Mornings are clear and cold. We still need a fire to make ourselves com-
fortable. We are getting low on firewood. This morning the llamas seemed to be happily kushed, but they did have frost on their backs. The calendar says it's spring, but my eyes aren't seeing spring.
By the time I drive home from work, this is what I see. This has been an unusual year - to stay so cold, con-
sistently for so long. We're going to San Francisco next week for a couple of days to see our youngest grandson, and his parents, and when we get home I'm planting tomatoes in Walls-of-Water, and they will grow because I say so. I've had enough.

As for the indigo dye bath, I realized that I didn't tell Sara that I have freeze dried indigo when I asked for her advice. I think I only need lye, and as a soap maker, I have plenty of that. I took an indigo dye workshop from Judith MacKenzie at Black Sheep Gathering a number of years ago. She told us that we needed an electric pot to keep the bath at a consistent temperature. That's how I plan to use the turkey roaster. The rest of the plan is rather nebulous but I expect blue.

Full Weekend

Feeding the sourdough starter every day for the three days prior to baking has made bread a whole new game. Yesterday I added four cups of white flour to the starter and then stopped to pour the new bag of whole wheat into its cannister. By the time I was ready to start adding the wheat flour, the dough was already bubbling. Look at the size of this bubble. I've never had energetic bread dough this this before. It truly is a living thing.

And yesterday I finally finished these socks that I started before New Years so I'd have something to knit on the plane. This is my first purple article of clothing, and I wore them today with my purple clogs. They're Little Arrowhead from the Harmony Guide of pattern stitches. I did so much ripping and reknitting that I should have four socks. I have decided that I am *not* a lace knitter.
Allison invited a couple of us over to celebrate Amy's birthday, birthday girl on the right. At first I looked at what was on the agenda for today, thought about the two hour round trip and then thought about how much these friends mean to me. Allison was teaching at Jimmy Beans until 12:30 so the invitation was for 1:30. Ian and I had friends coming for dinner at 4:00 and the grandkids were getting dropped off at 6:00 (date night for Mom and Dad). I am so glad I went - short as the visit was - there's nothing are rich as as old friends. Okay, *one* of us are old.
An unex-
pected bonus today - it's a turkey roaster. I asked Sara's advice on an indigo bath. I'd like to take one to the St. Mary's Fiber Retreat in June. She told me where to get Thiox and told me pick up a turkey roaster. She said they're cheap at box stores. Well, maybe in November, but I couldn't find one to save my life in Spring. I've been everywhere, so today I went to town a couple hours before the party and tried more obscure places, like thrift stores and Twin City Surplus. I was running out of time but tried one last thrift store. Bingo - here's the prize for $15.00 and no tax.

I got home before our friends - actually, I passed them on our 22 miles of two-lane road. They shoveled llama guano into the back of their truck for their organic garden before we had an early dinner, the last of the lamb chops from Mim's locker lamb. We had lost touch with each somehow and it was a great visit. Grandchildren were delivered on time. I took a walk with the kids - their requirement - and I read them five books before bed. Everyone is sleeping now but me, and I'm going to sit back, relax and see what you all have to say. It's been quite a weekend, full to the nth and I feel very satisfied - and tired.

Finished Objects

I finished weaving my lap robe on Saturday and twisted fringe while watching NCAA basketball. It's actually pretty easy to twist fringe and watch TV at the same time. I washed and steamed it last night after I got home from work. The fringe is crazy long because Kiernan likes to fiddle with it while watching a movie. We're going to have the kids this weekend.

It took me nearly half a year to spin, dye and weave this, but then I have to stop and realize that my lap robes are starting to pile up like my unworn sweaters. The next thing I weave needs to have one shuttle. I read Laura Frey say that you get your selvedges when you get your rhythm. It's hard to get a rhythm with log cabin. I found some 8/2 cotton upstairs and have reading about Leigh's Ms and Os. I think I'll give that a try.

I followed Mike Avery's advice on feeding my sourdough starter, and as result, my bread is better than it has ever been. I told Mim that I like'd some of her Shetland in colors that I don't have when I have enough bread credits to do the fiber exchange. I love what Leigh is doing with all her colors of Shetland, but I don't want a sweater. I've started spinning Shetland for my next lap robe and would like to incorporate some of Mim's fleece. That's as far as the plan goes for now.

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I just ran over to Mim's to take her a loaf of bread. Look what she just got! Click for big~

Bits and Pieces

I finished Jerry's hat and dropped it off to him on my way home from work last week. I wanted him to have it while it's still cold. When I measured his head it was 24" which is huge. I was worried that it would be too small, so at about half way I looked in Charlene Schurch's book to see how she recommends measuring the head. You're supposed include the ears. Now I was really worried, but I didn't need to be. It fit perfectly and he was thrilled. It's from our Shetlands.

I also finished two more bags and have now used up the last of my bits and pieces of yarns. I was able to use up six bits in the left bag! I've done a lot of dyeing so am starting bags with the new colors. I need to get an inventory before I can push them.

I'm still having a hard time managing my pictures with Vista and couldn't find this for my Easter sweater post. I wanted to show how great Schaeffer's Elaine looks in reverse stockinette. My LYS doesn't carry this so I'll be ordering some as soon as I hear if we're going to have a niece or nephew in the fall. For now, I'm going to knit and watch NCAA and hope UCLA wins the whole enchilada.

Easter Sweater

Easter sweater knitted from Schaefer's Elaine yarn. It's a wonderful thick and thin yarn and the one skein makes one child's sweater. This is my second and not my last baby sweater from this yarn.

The Lion of March

This is a lenticular cloud, so called because of it's lens shape. It's an indication of high winds aloft, so while the morning weather is warm and still, it means weather is coming. I remember when I took geography that the textbook pictures of these clouds were taken right here on the high desert side of the Eastern Sierra.


And sure enough, this is the morning one day later. March appears to have come in like a lion and is going out like a lion. We were lucky on Sunday. Easter couldn't have been any nicer. The grandkids - five of them! - were able to hunt eggs outside. DS and I sat on the deck to visit and got a little sunburned, in March!

I'm half way done with the weaving on this lap blanket. I didn't trust my measurements after seeing how much yarn I was going through for the warp, and reduced the width by 4" - now it seems that my measurements were correct and I'll have leftover yarn. I'm just a little mad at me. The black is natural colored Corriedale and the gray is rainbow dyed gray Targhee/Corriedale. I have one more bump of the gray, which is all that's left of a 6 pound fleece. I'm going to spin it up, just so I can have the satisfaction of actually using an entire fleece. I hope to finish the weaving this weekend.

Easter in March

Easter Eve and a full moon on the rise. I'm hearing Creedence Clearwater Revival in my head.

Easter morning and a full sun on the rise. I walked the dogs before church this morning - 29 degrees it was. They didn't seem to notice, but I certainly did.

New growth - yippee. We're starting to see native grasses sprouting at the roots of the dormant sage and rabbit brush. I'm reminded of my friend Nancy from high school. She loved to say "Spring has sprung, the grass is riz - I wonder where ol' Sharon is." And indeed, spring has sprung. It's 61 degrees outside at noon right now and a perfect day to celebrate Easter. Celebrate away!

Sour Dough Starter Woes

My sourdough starter died. I was having so much fun baking bread and now nothing. It died a pathetic putrid death. I phished one night to see if I could determine what I had done wrong. I mean, obviously the problem is me and what's the point of getting more starter if I don't know how I killed the last. My friend who had given it to me in the first place had also killed hers. Sylvia offered to send me some of hers, and I also found the Friends of Carl, who for the price of a SASE will send you Carl's starter. It had been in his family for 150 years, dating back to 1847 and the Oregon Trail, and though he died in 2000, his friends want to keep the culture alive. Though both were tempting, I ultimately resorted to starting my own.

My parents lived in Fairbanks when I was born and I got my first sourdough recipe from my mother's cookbook, Out of Alaska's Kitchens. The recipe for making your own starter is 2 cups of both flour and warm water, 1 teaspoon salt, 3 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon yeast. I started it yesterday and it's already bubbling like crazy. I need to stir it several times a day, so starting it on this three-day weekend is perfect timing. It's supposed to be ready for baking in four days.

In my phishing, I came across Sourdough Home and was pleased to find a comprehensive source of information. I had no idea that sourdough has such a large cult following. I still couldn't determine what my error was so decided, what the heck, and emailed the site owner. He replied with all kinds of information. I keep hearing and reading on blogs about people killing their starter, so the rest of this post is his information. BTW, I had killed mine by not putting in the refrigerator- now I know.
Mike Avery's Advice:

As to starter, if it's at room temperature, it really needs to be fed twice a day. If it is fed less, it will suffer a slow decline and a possible lingering death.

Each feeding should be enough to double it's size. I like to discard all but 1/2 cup, stir in 1/4 cup of water and 3/8 cup of flour. By weight, that's about 1 part of flour to 1 part of water. By volume it's about 3 parts flour to 2 parts water. If I have a weak or wounded starter, I feed it 3 times a day, and each feeding is enough to triple the starter's size. I feel a starter is fairly healthy when it will double in size between feedings.

Back in the days of ore, the goldrush guys and gals used to bake every day and their starters were happy. Now, we don't bake every day. It helps to have 20 miners to bake for if you're going to bake every day.

So, what do we do with our starters? I refrigerate mine. Sadly, refrigeration doesn't preserve a starter, it just slows it's death. So, once a month or so, I take a tablespoon of starter out of the fridge, feed it 1/4 cup water and 3/8 cup of flour. 12 hours later, another 1/4 cup of water and 3/8 cup of flour. After that, I discard 1/2 of the starter and repeat the feedings. Usually in a day or two, the starter is happy again. At that point, I discard the starter in the fridge (or use it to make pancakes, muffins or pizza shells) and put the freshly fed starter in the fridge.

When I'm ready to bake, I pretty much follow the feeding instructions above, start with a tablespoon, feed 1/4 cup water and 3/8 cup flour, 12 hours later another 1/4 cup water and 3/8 cup of flour, 12 hours later 1/2 cup of water and 3/4 cup of flour, 12 hours later 1 cup of water and 1 1/2 cups of flour until the starter is lively and there is enough of it to make the bread I want to bake.

Some people think I over emphasize feeding the starter and keeping it healthy, but from the letters I've received over the years I am convinced that most people's starter is on the edge of death, so I try to insure their starters will be happy and healthy.

Thanks Mike for taking the time to help a total stranger.

Academic .Ag. Libraries

I stopped by the Life and Health Science Library last time I was on campus. This is posted in the window of the front door. I'm told that all the Ag libraries are required to post it. Doncha wonder what the story is behind this requirement??

Finished Object

I finally finished something. This is Blue Sky cotton and I bought it from Amy to knit two baby sweaters. It wasn't what I wanted after all, the baby sweaters were knit from Knit Picks cotton and have long since been gifted. After I got over buyer's remorse, I decided to buy another skein and make a jeans sweater. The extra skein was enough for the sweater but not enough for the neck ribbing, so I bought yet another very expensive skein. I woke up Friday morning and surprised myself by realizing that I did have enough to make one row of single crochet. I think it worked out perfectly. I made the pattern up on Sweater Wizard.

This is my leftover yarn. I could have crocheted another round, had I been so inclined. But I wanted to wear it to town and I only had time for one round. I returned the extra skein, showed off my sweater and now have store credit at Jimmy Beans. It's already burning a hole in my pocket.


I dropped an ice cube on the kitchen floor today, so I tossed it in the pets' water bowl, as much for my amusement as for Charlie's. He was lounging on the counter and was overtaken by curiosity, as I suspected he would be.

He batted it around a couple times, and then was done. His amuse-
ment was over, but mine continues.

Yet more

Does this winter never stop?! I notice the grasses are beginning to green. How pathetic is this- I'm planning to catch shots of our grass. No bulbs are sprouting here. Some kind of munchie has caught the attention of the cotton tails. Every night this week I've scared them off when I drive into the yard.
The storm appears to be passing but we're going to have weather all weekend according to NOAA. I wish they would lie. We were in town today and had lunch with DS2. His portfolio has been accepted by the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. I sent him some shots of his ceramics we have and he ended up sending all the samples that he was allowed. They said it was one of the most diverse portfolios they have received. It kinda takes the sting out of winter.

I finished a sweater this morning and wore it to town today. I am so taken by Matty's acceptance that I can't bring myself to tout my own work today - tomorrow.

Catching Purple

I had dyed a number of things purple last year, but I think it became personal with this bag which I've carried since last fall. Then it moved on when I purchased the purple boiled wool clogs. Mind you, I do not own purple clothing - yet. In fact, I don't tend to wear much color of any sort.
I have been using a couple of purple pens at work but didn't realize how far the infection had gone until my wrist rest arrived this week. I was the only one who had ordered one in purple. I'm getting nervous. Purple people tend to be passionate about their color. I hope this isn't a leftover effect from the virus I had in November. I hope I didn't catch purple.
Driving home from work, it's yet another storm moving in. I can hardly see the Sierras. By the time I got home it was pouring rain. At least the snow has melted. I think we are going to have a bumper crop of wild flowers this spring.

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Taken with my phone on my way to pick up Mim for the guild meeting.