Sleeping and Eating

I'm in Los Angeles for a secret family event. I'll have pictures but only when the event has happened. Flying for any length of time takes so much effort. I'm only gone for 5 days but wow you'd have thought it was several months. I think the planning part is the same no matter how long you go for.
Wednesday was one of those days when you took one step forward and two steps back.
The dawn broke heavy with a sticky warm mist. Emily, Courtney's 8 year old sister spent the night with us.
This is the second sitting for breakfast apple crepes~ this picture is for Autumn, whom has been taking pictures of her food in Peru...

Courtney came early to work and Erica went into the dye studio. Skylar and Emily played happily while I plied some of the new color-way test batches so that Erica could take them to Knitterly. Courtney mentions that her friend Kevin is looking for work and can use the riding lawn mower. Our lawn is in very bad shape again, so I pleaded and begged for Kevin to come and help out. Andrea had called in sick. This is the moment when I lost control over the day.
Courtney had huge skeining (not her fault just sometimes skeins don't go right) problems, then we ran out of propane in one dye stations. Kevin came and I had to give him a tour of the barn, shed, and garage, looking for equipment, teaching him the difference between a lavender plant, lupine and thistle. Skylar and Emily came to a loose end, so instructions had to be given there, plus the barn needed sorting out from being used as a fort. Kevin tried to get the weed eater started while the battery on the lawn mower charged. However that was not to be as the weed eater is defunked. More instructions on what could be done while I go into town for propane and to buy a new weed eater. Skylar and Emily had to be sorted out again and embraced the idea of going for a walk in the forest, so more changing of clothes happened. Loaded the two propane tanks and gas can for the lawn mower into the car and down to town I went. Time passes and home with a new weed eater, three new propane tanks and a full gas can. Only to be met at the door by Kevin whom announces that the battery failed mid mow. The phone rang, Maryann at "Churchmouse Yarns" needed information about yarn so I asked Kevin to start the new weed eater and put the old battery in the car and I would take it into town. Knitting Central called and we had a very pleasant talk about yarn, and I talked to Linda at String about some special order of yarn, then Skylar and Emily needed sorting. Kevin appeared and sadly proclaimed the new weed eater had died. It is now 3:00 and no lunch has been consumed. Courtney had finished for the day so loaded the car with Skylar, Erica, Emily, Courtney, the new dead weed-eater and the dead battery into the car along with some boxes to go to the post office. In town we drop Emily and Courtney off, go to the post office when I began to feel a little whoosy, so we went to eat. Off to the battery shop, get new battery, stop into the book shop for some books we had ordered. Then off to get a prescription, exchanged weed eaters and home, it was now 5:00. By the way, no packing has been done. Not for Erica, Skylar or I. Kevin went to put the new battery into the lawn mower and took the new weed eater. Erica went up to pack with Skylar, I started to do some packing, and cleaning up, when Kevin comes down from the barn to announce sadly that the bolts needed to put the new battery in were still on the old battery now at the battery shop, that is closed. A frantic call to the battery shop, yes they have the bolts and yes they would wait until I got there, but the phone rings again.......
After several calls later I drove, yet again, to town only to meet Kevin (God Bless this young man) in the parking lot," Mrs Andersen didn't you hear me tell you I'd pick up the bolts? You looked really busy so I thought I'd take care of that". Wow I just fell in love with Kevin, right there in the parking lot. The fact that I didn't start weeping then? Too tired. Back home again, Erica has organized Skylar and packed herself. She had finished the kitchen. It is now 7:30. We needed to ship out ASAP yarn so Erica and I go into the production room while a very tired Skylar watches TV. Time passes. Skylar comes in and proclaims it time to dye her fiber as promised by me. I look at the clock and it's 9:00! Where did the time go. Erica says that she left things brewing in the dye pots anyway so down into the dye studio marches Erica and Skylar.




I carry on with yarn and time passes. Skylar comes up having dyed and I direct her in getting ready for bed. Time passes. Erica is in the dye studio until 12:00 am which is about the time I'm done playing with yarn. I realize that I haven't begun to pack myself. Erica makes a list, don't you love Erica? I do. I begin packing and writing notes for Kevin and Courtney and Cora (whom will come while I'm gone, thank goodness as we just scratched the surface of the mess) try and empty the fridge of anything that will be really bad before we come home again. Folding clothes found a lot of Skylar's things, even though they are very small in size the pile exceeded the room in her suitcase, so I packed them in mine, which all ready held three huge bubble wrapped packages of glass bottles full of dye and a very special bottle of Scotch and two special limited edition Scotch drinking glasses. Erica, whom looked beyond worn out says she's going to bed, it's 1:00 am. More packing and sorting in the office sees my packing complete it's 2:30 am. As I fall into bed, my mind still buzzing from all the projects not completed, the sky was lit by lightening. It is hard to sleep with bright flashes of light and the oppressive heaviness of a thunderstorm approaching, I then began to worry Skylar was going to be scared by thunder but must have drifted off to sleep mid worry. Time passes quickly and it's now 6:30 am, the alarm and phone rang at the same time. Up to finish packing a frozen leg of lamb into the suitcase and a thawed leg of lamb (marinated but not cooked as there was no time for lovely lamb dinners the day before) in a bag to go to Becky's house. I wondered what TSA was going to make of the odd contents of my bag. Into the car, only an hour later than planned. Dropped Erica and the car off at Becky's in Portland to begin the journey to California. A tired (bone weary) Skylar and I took the Street Car (the short walks became long by the weight of the amount of bags I was carrying and the amount of rest I had gotten and the severity of my allergy attack, Skylar "Aunty Pat why are your eyes so red? they are like really red", me-"does the red look like Crimson or Tomato?") to the MAX and then rode to the airport.

Skylar watching Portland go by on the street car

Skylar's bag doesn't have wheels so it was quite a hike. We had enough time for a bite to eat and then walked to the gate and right onto the plane. There was very little left of me to pick up at the airport, really I felt like an empty balloon. Except for the pain in my ears I could have been a cardboard cut out standing there at the airport. Mike was happy to see me but not happy that I had to be put to bed. Skylar was happily reunited with her parents. I slept 12 hours the first night and 10 the second. We had a very, very quiet day yesterday, not only due to the fact that I can hardly hear (due to allergies and the plane ride) but Mike is ridding herd over my activity level ("I told you to take it easy and sleep and eat you just don't listen").
Mike and I had breakfast out (yeah a whole day without cooking or dishes) then headed up to see my parents. We then came home and had our own BBQ (Steven is becoming a regular chief and is a pleasure to have working in the kitchen). Mike and I watched Deadwood on DVD while the neighborhood erupted in fireworks. I then went into the "cool room" (Becky's old room has an air conditioner) and read my latest novel by William Dietrich "Hadrian's Wall". It's not his latest, that would be the "Rosetta Stone", but that is in hard back and too much weight for my carry on bag, so started this older book in paperback.
I knit on the plane, and then again while watching TV last night.

I've "designed" another project. This one seems to be coming along nicely. I wanted to show what you really could do with 11/2 ounces of beaded yarn. I'm knitting fingerless gloves using the Neck Candy pattern! I can do fingerless gloves.