Catching up

After being down for 2 1/2 weeks it's hard to catch up with work. This past week I did my best; 23 skeins.... I was encouraged to take a break to dead head roses and tidy up the garden, it was lovely working with Mike (even though we both took asprin afterwards) and here some blooms from the rose garden in the back yard!

 I went to Farmers Market on Thursday and couldn't resist buying these Lilies, they smell so heavenly, so amazing to find them, fresh for sale, in late October!

 Here is a week's worth of spinning and plying out on the Solar Dryer 23 skeins are here drying some are on lower shelves and hard to see

 Today was Steven's Birthday and here is the cake! It was so yummy, chocolate cake with a creamy center with lots of decadent chocolate frosting! Gummy worms and a glow in the dark skeleton! Umm

 I cooked breakfast in my outdoor kitchen....wish Mary was here! She loves mushrooms done this way, Bangers, Bacon and Mushrooms, Don's brother Joe is coming for dinner on Friday and I'm planning Beef Stew! saved some bacon and mushrooms for that.

 We went to the movies and after found this new patisserie in the mall Steven was drooling! Too bad we were full of breakfast!

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 Steven is having one of these for breakfast tomorrow! Although after a wonderful dinner and then the cake tonight I'm wondering if I'll ever be hungry again!!!!

 Right next door is a new Tea shop selling lots of interesting tea, we bought tea and really enjoyed the samples

 After a long day of birthday fun we were all tired.... here is a very unusual sight in our house both cats side by side on the couch. Cleo really has never liked Lily and has decided to tolerate her but really doesn't like Lily to be too close....have no idea what is up tonight

I'm going to bed and getting back to work tomorrow. Mike did more work in the kitchen and we thinking "painting" this weekend. After that we move in the cabinets, which will be great to get a dining room back and more room for TFC We are also thinking of more shelving to make my life more organized. I hate not being able to find things and it takes sometimes hours to set up to do a pretty basic job. Washing dishes in the bathroom sink (a job that Mike mostly does) is OK but removing 4 large Rubbermaid container to look for granulated garlic in the garage and then the taking food outside and bringing it in is a little hard. Dyeing can take a while, having to remove all the boxes and Rubbermaid boxes in front of the dye shelves then putting it all back again ahhh can take lots of extra time. It's hard but spending time with Mike is important and I do look forward to a wonderful kitchen, and knowing this is just temporary well it makes it worth it. Watching Mr. Rufus  Hummingbird while cooking breakfast this morning was memorable! I love the new grill as well. But new shelves in my bedroom/office will be next week's project. Next week we'll be shipping out lots of yarn and on Nov. 5-6 I'll be at Wild Fiber with a fair amount of yarn! See you there!

I feel fine...really!

First things first I'm well for the first time in months nothing is swollen, inflamed, infected, or oozing out. It's wonderful.

While getting ready to spray the wasp nest we found this blossom on this plant that Emma gave Becky when she left for college, in 1999! this is the first time we've had anything like this!

 The garden

 This is Jan's Meyer Lemon Tree and the lemon grass growing next to it

 The pink lemon tree covered in ripening fruit

 The new BBQ

 My new temperary kitchen/dye studio

 my laundry

 Getting ready for work

Here is the first batch drying in the sun

 my not so new Solar Dryer

 Cleo dreaming about going outside, and we would love to let her but Los Angeles is no where for an outside cat

 Redondo Beach Breakwater. The weather last week was really hot! So even though I was still pretty sick with a stomach bug Mike took me to the water....where it was cool

 So many Pelicans

 We walked in the sunset........

 Mike has been working in the real kitchen and has put the molding up around the windows and doors now that the drywall is in place

While recovering from yet another stomach siege I went out to sit in the back yard and was bombarded by the "real" owner of the back yard, a Rufus Sided Hummingbird look in the top of the blue sky and there he is....

Here is the yarn spun from the roving that is in the picture above

Another year and I'm well enough (after going to the doctors) to go to a meeting of The Friends of Blair's club on the occasion of Blair's Birthday. We had a great tea at the Huntungton Gardens

While there we visited an Orchid Show

Blair's cat

The members of The Friends of Blair's Club

Here is a skein that I plied this week in Merino Angora Cashmere in Northwest Autumn!

I'm spinning like crazy trying to make up the two weeks I've been sick, again. I've also been on the phone with the post office, they've lost my trunk show! Westport Yarns is frantic and so am I. I'm still waiting for a call....... it's been 4 hours..... where is our yarn.......? 

The Weeks Work

A full work week this week. Unpacked are two jumbo and one medium tub. I've been to Knit night and worked out by problems, "challenges" to the scarf I'm making. I've given up on the Ruana and the Stone Scarf, huge projects and really I have better things to do with this yarn. I've been inspired! 

It rained yesterday and while my NW mates are no big deal, Mike reports Downtown Los Angeles got 1 inch which is a really big deal in Los Angeles. It solved my homesick problem. I'm really feeling better especially since I've majorly organized and found lots of important things. 

One of the most surprising finds was this huge blossom. Emma gave this plant to Becky when Becky left for College in 1999. It has bloomed once several years ago with a couple of single blooms. This cluster was hiding behind another plant when we moved them to spray a wasp nest in the eves above this plant. I love it!

The Drywall is done and here is Lily watching the shadows of the men spraying and sanding the walls on the other side of the film 

We had our first BBQ with the new BBQ. It was great and look forward to many more. However doing all the dishes.... in the bathroom sink not so great. 

16 skeins are drying in the garage, or "Tanglewood South" challenge was to spin them dry in the washer outside, next to do laundry in the tub and hang them out in the Aprium Tree. Dyeing tomorrow!

The sad week

This last week has been a challenge. My phone went wacky and I got food poisoning and so I'm just starting to feel better! I've been so exhausted that I've just been resting and trying to recover from the dental excitement, the hornet stings, the drive (up for 30 hours and 181/2 hours in the car) and then arriving to a "Bachelor Pad" without a kitchen then VK Live and then Food Poisoning. I needed a break and had sort of a "nervous" one, so I took it. I have been working a little but just a little being well monitored by my men (Mike and Steven)

Great things have happened as well. I got this picture from Debra, she made the Snoody Snood from Cowlgirls (Cathy Carron) out of Fire and Ice just like mine and when we ran into each other guess what I was wearing!! Great minds think alike!

I had participated in a Fiber Scarf exchange at Aurora Colony Spinning Guild. This is the second year I've participated, and lucky for me Kay got my fiber again this year. Last year I provided 4 oz.s of Northwest Autumn in Superwash Merino and if you've seen me this year you've probably seen that scarf as it is a favorite! This year I put in the exchange Merino/Angora/ Cashmere in Erica's Sunstone. This amazing scarf is what I got back. This is a picture that Kay sent me, and her letter. While they were in Oregon exchanging finished scarves I was in Brentwood at a Cocktail Party at Jennifer Knits, kicking off VK Live. 

I'm so sorry I was not able to give you your scarf last night.  I cannot believe that I picked your fiber for the second time in a row!  I loved the color of the fiber, it was a joy to watch the colors blend.  I have no idea what the fiber was, and it was a bit of a challenge for me at first.  I wove the scarf up with a warp of black satin bamboo on a 10 dent reed.  As I was not sure if I would have enough fiber, I also used the black bamboo with the fiber you provided for the weft.  I have 1.2 oz. left of your fiber, which should be enough to make a little hat or a head band for winter if blended with something else. I also added some light green rock/beads to each end, one side only.  The fringe I left extra long, twisted and knotted at different levels for a more "organic" look.  I do hope you enjoy the scarf, please let me know how I can get it to you, I am happy to mail it.  I am also going to send you two photos of the scarf.  I think though that I can only send one photo at a time (due to my crazy computer).

Take care and I look forward to seeing you again!

I'm so happy about this! The other reason to be glad is that the kitchen is getting drywall, the work is being done by the most talented drywall "artists" I have ever seen. These guys are amazing- they come at 7:00am and don't leave until sundown, meanwhile we are now coping without a laundry as well.... The BBQ that we've had for 10 years gave up the ghost last week (since I got food poisoning on Wednesday I could had cared less!!!) and so we've just purchased a new one. It's sad when a beloved appliance has to be replaced.... very sad.
I have lots of paper work to do as we are down to the wire for the IRS. Yikes! Happy Knitting!