tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177927322024-03-07T13:20:52.853-05:00The Knitted BrowYarn, dogs, domestic pursuits...kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.comBlogger344125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-58332048115820610162017-12-18T16:02:00.001-05:002017-12-18T16:02:10.292-05:00New Blog, new posts soon to come! Go read! I've been blogging sporadically over at another blog...<br />
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Sometimes you need a fresh start.<br />
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You can visit and read me here: </div>
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Sycamore and Goldenrod is the name of the new/old site. I've been writing there a little, and have big 2018 plans to blog a bit more. </div>
kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-13116560834373079062016-02-13T20:38:00.004-05:002017-12-18T15:57:03.419-05:002016 will be a good year. I am starting to blog <a href="http://sycnrod.blogspot.com/">in this space. </a>kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-66809546681958878672015-01-11T18:09:00.001-05:002015-01-11T18:11:14.353-05:00fighting winter's blues, one kale chip at a time...A drive by entry, for the most part, but I hate to write a year-end summary, then not write for months on end. It's been a good year, 2015, so far. Cold as hell, particularly in the past week, but it is winter. I am struck by the whining I hear at my job, about the weather, mostly from people who are NOT native Southerners. Huh...I thought if you were from Rhode Island, or Brooklyn, that you might have seen 30 degrees F before? The incessant bitchery has made me determined to pretend to enjoy winter all the more. I am sucking it up, and cheerfully marching through these gray, frosty days, with the resolve of a sled dog in the Iditarod.<br />
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Fake it til you make it, that's my motto this year...that said, I could use a serotonin drip about now. The light is returning, days are incrementally longer, but someone needs to inform my brain chemistry. I grit my teeth, inhale (that's figurative, btw, I'm eating it, not smoking it) the St. John's Wort, fish oil, and vitamin D, and try to get myself to bed earlier, but any minor disruption throws my sleep off, and starts the downward spiral again.<br />
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I know things will improve in a few weeks; they always do, and by February, I'll be a lot more even keel. Meanwhile, snow would cheer me! If we are to be in the throes of winter, let it snow!!<br />
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Yesterday, I went to my spinning guild's Distaff Day, our annual all-day spinarama, and we were given a challenge for the new year. Each member got a 4oz bag of fiber, mixed scraps donated by a <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/KnittyAndColor">well-known indie dyer in our area</a> to spin and make something, by late March. The scraps were multi-fiber, with glittery stuff, silk, and every permutation in between, rustic wool, superwash, merino, locks, you name it. I took the opportunity to learn to use the guild's drum carder and make some batts out of my bag. There was waaay more fiber than I thought, and I got 5 pretty batts out of it:<br />
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Here they are going home in a Krispy Kreme donut bag, because they are so very sweet! I separated the colors somewhat, and will spin a gradient with them, and then I think I might chain-ply the whole thing to preserve the colors. I started spinning the green one this morning, and it was mesmerizing. </div>
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I'm in the process, this evening, of making kale chips in the dehydrator that my sister and I are sharing. We share it seasonally, and pass it back and forth between Atlanta and Roanoke. P has made an excellent batch of jerky, and I'm using <a href="http://nourishedkitchen.com/cheesy-kale-chips/">this</a> recipe for the kale chips. I had bought 2 bunches of organic kale, but then I managed to fill the dehydrator with only one bunch, so the second bunch will probably turn into kale salad, or just cooked greens later this week, unless the chips are absolutely sensational, in which case I'll ramp up production. </div>
kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-64978793423832623252014-12-31T15:02:00.004-05:002014-12-31T15:05:55.648-05:002014, the year that wasI've been thinking about this past year for about a month, now, and not really feeling like it was a great year for me. I didn't knit that much, finished very few things, and felt like it was all work and no play. Oh, sure, it beat the hell out of 2013, which with Ella's loss and the death of a friend in October, broke my heart, and 2010 and 2005, and 1986, all of which sucked eggs for various reasons, but really, it felt more like a year in which I started and failed to complete many things.<br />
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Upon breaking it down, first as a list of what I did get done, and now, as a month-by-month list, it feels, if not a banner year, at least a year in which I moved in a generally positive direction...</div>
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No pix and few links, but a rather comprehensive list of the Big Events of 2014. </div>
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<b><u>January</u></b></div>
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Went to visit Russell Cave Paleolithic site in Tennesee. </div>
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Saw "Gravity." </div>
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I started the ESOL teaching job; a steep learning curve, but it was great to be working in my field, so soon after finishing that certification, and so soon after being told by co-workers that those jobs were really hard to get. I did a lot of training, and a lot of paperwork. </div>
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I painted The Clamcave a wonderful golden apple color, and the ATL got a massive ice and snow storm that paralyzed the city, and gave me a week off from work. </div>
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I started walking Cricket with a muzzle, after some unfortunate dogfights in 2013, which greatly increased my feeling of safety being out and about with him. </div>
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<b><u>February</u></b></div>
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More time off work due to ice and the city being shut down. </div>
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I attended a local Druid Imbolc ritual.</div>
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I went on retreat with the knitting guild, way up in the mountains of North Carolina. I got to test my nerve and the CRV's 4wd driving capacity on icy snowy roads. </div>
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I buried myself at work in testing and paperwork, and came home at contract hour every day, because I didn't have to write lesson plans. I went to the gym, baked pot pie, and knitted a lot. I made soap and got more comfortable with the fact that there was lye and hot fat being slung around in my kitchen. </div>
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I traded spinning wheels with a friend, and spent the month spinning on her Ashford Traveller. I missed the Louet, and came to appreciate the Irish tension wheel. </div>
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I buried myself in the Ravelry Outlander Swap annual orgy of crafting, obsessing over Diana Gabaldon's books, and spending more time than was healthy online. </div>
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<b><u>March</u></b></div>
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I went back to teaching, after my 6 weeks of testing children. I found out that I may not have a trailer the following year to work in, and was told I needed find my own space in another teacher's classroom. I did just that, and then learned my trailer was safe...a great lesson in learning to roll with the changes and craziness at my school. </div>
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I baked a spectacular rosemary shortbread. </div>
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My knitters had a special dinner and swap. </div>
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I read Larissa Brown's memorable book "Beautiful Wreck." </div>
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Another Druid ritual, this time for Ostara, held in their beautiful grove, with a simple potluck, and wonderful conversation afterwards.</div>
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My dear friends Dave and Dev visited, and we climbed Arabia Mountain, re-connected with another old friend from VA, and generally had a glorious weekend. </div>
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<b><u>April</u></b></div>
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Spring Break!! </div>
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I went to VA to visit P. and see the cherry blossoms in DC. We spent some time at the National Conservation Training Center - P working, and me knitting and hiking. I saw Bald Eagles on their nest. </div>
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I fell in love with the music of The Civil Wars. </div>
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I met up with my long-lost cousin Tony and his partner for an amazing dinner at Cashion's. </div>
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My sister visited, and as usual, we packed "the big box into the little one," with Stitches South, long walks, Jeju Spa, Crayfish Shack, bottle shopping at Tower Liquor, and much extravagant folicking over a 3 day weekend. </div>
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Learned to smoke chicken on the gas grill. </div>
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Bought a used MacBook Air for $200. </div>
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<b><u>May</u></b></div>
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I developed a nasty case of Achilles tendonitis, that made walking painful, and took up 8 weeks of my life. Did a lot of icing my heels, stretching, elevating the legs, and self-PT, and kept it to a manageable level. </div>
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Infused a cucumber vodka, and developed a recipe for cucumber martinis that was life-changingly delicious. Really. I can't wait til spring comes to make this stuff again. </div>
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Celebrated a friend and fellow knitter's 70th birthday, attending her glorious surprise party. </div>
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Ended the school year on a happy note, in spite of having to go an extra few days to make up for the ice and snow days, which I wouldn't have traded off anyway. </div>
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Went away to Gulf Shores Alabama with my mom and the West Virginia cousins for a long beach weekend. Explored funky small towns, bogs and wildlife refuges, fish markets, antique stores and hole-in-the-wall barbecues and cafes all over Alabama en route to and from.</div>
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Questioned whether the daily cucumber martini was giving me a drinking problem. Infused another batch. </div>
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<b><u>June</u></b></div>
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Worked another week at school, cleaning out my trailer, finishing the endless pile of ESOL documentation, and attending 2 conferences. </div>
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Went to VA to visit my mom for a few days, and then on up to the DC area to hang out with P, and begin the lengthy process of moving him back down to The Atomic Lodge. </div>
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Started RPG-ing again, in my friend Burdock's weekly Nerd Nite on Tuesdays, via Apple Facetime, resurrecting a character I drew up waaay back in the early 1980's. Reconnected with old friends in the gaming community and generally got in touch with my inner geek girl. </div>
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Did a lot of yardwork. </div>
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Hiked with my girl Mindy on the lovely Johnson Ferry trail, at the Chatahoochee NRA. </div>
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Did not turn on my AC until the end of the month! </div>
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Found a new swimming place for Cricket, but daily swims resulted in an ear infection that took the rest of the summer to clear up. </div>
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<b><u>July</u></b></div>
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Started taking my kayak out again, paddling in nearby lakes and the Chatahoochee river. </div>
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Made goat milk soap, and learned that hot humidity and milk soap curing are two incompatible things. </div>
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Went back to DC to continue the move out. </div>
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Spent a lot of time bonding with VA friends, dedicated 2 days to binge-watching "True Detective." I honestly still can't say whether I loved it, or if it represents 8 hours of my life that I'll never get back. </div>
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Spent a happy birthday with my mom and sister visiting, and going to see The Avett Brothers with P and sis.<br />
Saw the High Museum's "Dream Cars" exhibit, a collection of concept cars - very cool! </div>
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Finished the cucumber vodka, and decided that it was a seasonal drink, and needed to retire til next May. </div>
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Found a raccoon in the front yard! </div>
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<b><u>August</u></b></div>
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Stopped by a yardsale in my neighborhood, en route to work, and found an old Lane cedar chest and a metal hospital cabinet for sale. Loaded them into the GTI and muscled them into my office to hold spinning fiber and miscellaneous office supplies. </div>
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Stopped using shampoo, and switched over to a vinegar and baking soda method of washing my hair. </div>
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Binge-watched 3 seasons of "Girls." Definitely time well spent. </div>
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Started work again, moved to a new trailer and had a lot of drama with my roommate, which eventually resulted in me deciding that I wasn't going to engage in drama with her, and letting a lot of stuff roll off my back. Earned myself the reputation (possibly undeserved) of "extremely laid-back" at my job. </div>
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Spent the entire month at work doing intake and language testing of new students. Met many children who came across the US border unaccompanied, to connect with family members in our community. </div>
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Helped P settle into his new life as retired person. Tried not to engage in drama over the stress of combining our 2 households after 3 years of separation. Generally succeeded. </div>
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Took a class with the Herbalista, and made ragweed allergy tincture. </div>
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<b><u>September</u></b></div>
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Buried myself in work, and experienced much burnout and negativity as a result.</div>
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Found a praying mantis on the trailer, and rehomed it into my own yard, where there were more bugs and things to eat. </div>
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Caught the expected school-child crud that lingered on for weeks, not sick enough to take time off, but not well enough to really be at work, either. </div>
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Did a lot of yard work, planting ferns, hostas, laid down some new grass seeds. </div>
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Had a tree service disaster, wherein the tree crew cut down the wrong-damn-perfectly-healthy tree, in addition to the 3 rotted danger-to-the-house trees on the property. Convinced him to waive much of his price for the service, and to do major ivy mitigation work in our back woods property, as well. </div>
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Sprained my pinky toe, an injury which took 6 weeks to heal. An injury which was arguably more painful than dislocating my knee in 2011, because I was not at liberty to spend days in bed, and months in physical therapy, but instead had to ride it out. </div>
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<b><u>October</u></b></div>
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Visited VA, went to the Virginia Fall Fiber Festival with mom and sis.<br />
Went to the AtBot with P and Rox to see the scarecrows.</div>
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Picked apples with P up in the foothills. </div>
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Learned to make <a href="http://www.alexandracooks.com/2013/08/09/baked-steel-cut-oatmeal/">the baked steel cut oatmeal</a> that defined breakfast for the next 3 months. </div>
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Had a moth scare in my house, which triggered a thorough inspection and fluffing of the yarn stash, but was able to contain it with minimal damage. </div>
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Cricket had his first senior dog check up and got a clean bill of health. </div>
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Saw a deer across the street from our house! </div>
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Took another Herbalista class, this one a benefit for the Herb bus free clinic. Made medicines, teas, and got a lot of valuable information about herbal health maintenance. </div>
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Got a student intern, whom I felt barely qualified to mentor. </div>
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Went to Asheville, NC, to see The Avett Brothers Halloween show. It snowed Halloween night, which was remarkably beautiful, with the juxtaposition of fall leaves and white stuff all around. </div>
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<b><u>November</u></b></div>
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Discovered the glory that is <a href="http://www.jctkitchen.com/about/">JCT Kitchen</a> restaurant and bar, and their epic fried chicken. </div>
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Did a lot of spinning on my wheel. </div>
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Started buying beer in growlers at local taps businesses. </div>
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Found the best yoga class ever, complete with guided meditation at the end, on a night that worked well for my schedule. Seriously so happy about this. </div>
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Cleaned the house thoroughly, really for the first time since summer. </div>
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Made a terrific Thanksgiving dinner with P. My mom and sis visited for the holiday. </div>
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Spent a great day in South Carolina visiting the SC and New York cousins and my aunt Nicki, who is feisty and wise, at 80something. </div>
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Had our annual Lord of the Rings movie marathon. </div>
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Binge-read a lot of books about Minimalism, and resolved to purge many, many things in the coming year. </div>
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<b><u>December</u></b></div>
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Sent the student intern off for her next placement; a generally positive experience, given both our slammed schedules and work stresses. </div>
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Had 3 admin observations in one week, mostly because they were trying to get them done before 2nd semester. Passed all 3 with good feedback! </div>
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Knitted a lot, though not really for gifts, and little was finished. Winter just feels like time to knit, to me. </div>
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Won a bag of Shetland, and another bag of Merino fibers at Spinning Guild's raffle. </div>
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Saw "The Hobbit." meh. Saw "Interstellar." Wonderful! </div>
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Spent Christmas in VA, a few days of warm weather, hiking and exploring the Shenandoah Valley with P and sister, and good times in my childhood home. </div>
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Visited my Aunt Lucille, a family eccentric.<br />
Visited the AtBot's Garden Lights exhibit. </div>
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Gamed, cooked, and relaxed over vacay, while visioning for the New Year to come. </div>
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That's it. Big innovations included having my husband home again, kayaking again after so many years, the steel cut oats recipe, the cucumber vodka, adopting no-poo routine for the hair, and the new yoga class. I'm looking forward to 2015, and hope to keep the general trend moving in a positive direction. </div>
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Happy New Year! </div>
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kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-26977075851889024782014-11-09T13:04:00.000-05:002014-11-09T13:04:00.379-05:00oh what a tangled yoke we weaveOr not. I started Eunny Jang's <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/tangled-yoke-cardigan">Tangled Yoke Cardigan</a>, a couple of weeks ago, and was proceeding cheerfully along, on my Asheville trip. I had forgotten to bring my tape measure, but decided to just eyeball measurements. I'm a math teacher, and a lifelong estimator. How bad could it be? Honestly, all my measurements were close to the pattern's recommended sizes, so that part is validating. But upon reading finished project notes, after 8 inches had been knitted, including ALL the boring-but-pretty garter rib on the bottom, I started thinking. (uh-oh, you say, can the analysis paralysis be far behind?) Eunny herself recommends that this sweater be knitted with some positive ease. A bunch of folk who knitted it, mention that it needs zero ease to look its best. I see it, myself, as a "little light layer," to be worn mostly open, or only partially buttoned up. I had started it in a size 42", ostensibly for the positive ease,but I'm notorious for knitting sweaters that end up too big/sloppy, and Rowan Felted Tweed is known for its ability to grow with washing. I got close to gauge, and imagine that upon completion, this sweater was gonna grow. I still wanted a little layer. I started to have self doubts. Plus, I wanted to add some length to it, to accomodate my own long waist, and to do that required some re-thinking of the shaping. <div>
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So last night, I ripped it. 8 inches, and 2 skeins of the felted tweed, ripped out. I cast on again, in the 38" size, which fits me exactly, not accounting for the reputed growth of the yarn. For some reason, I kept messing up on the setup row, and so ended up taking 3 tries to actually get the sucker cast on. Sigh. Now it's presumably back on track, stitch markers placed properly, brand new stitch counter placed on the needle, and my head bowed to my task of knitting some garter rib. Which requires constant monitoring, but lets hope my experiences with the first go-round have made me smarter about how garter rib looks from behind. </div>
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I am holding Felted Tweed responsible for me persevering on this project. It is wonderful to knit with. Rustic, yet soft, and oh-so-pretty. The colorway is called "rage," yet it inspires nothing but love in my heart, the deep autumnal red of oak leaves, and Arkansas Black apples. No pix, now, because I only have an inch of garter rib on the needles. I do not see this as a project that will be quickly completed; there's that scary yoke, for one thing, and my own personal bugbear, the picking up of stitches for button bands, and neckband facing. But I hope that a year from now, I can wear it apple picking, and it will comprise the perfect light layer. </div>
kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-38822348230637205342014-11-03T20:52:00.001-05:002014-11-03T20:52:24.652-05:00composed while watching Breaking Bad...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Today is the obligatory "I uploaded some random pictures and captioned them" entry. Composed while bingewatching "Breaking Bad." Avoiding schoolwork, for the moment, anyway. </div>
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Cricket, reminding us that it's important to relax. Really, he spends so much time in this position. I love it. I adore this dog, who has settled down finally, and has become calmer than ever, who has become P's dog, since he is home all day, now. I can't believe he will be 9, come February.<br />
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After this tv binge, I am going to follow Crick's suggestion, and go upstairs for a hot bath; epsom salts, lavender, and baking soda - then bed. Project Z, my endless pursuit of serious sleep, continues.<br />
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More Halloween aftermath, snow on the Jack o' Lanterns, in Asheville, at a side street cafe. We spent all day Saturday walking around the city, with the storm howling around us; snow blowing horizontally. We dressed warmly, and ducked into galleries, bookstores, and bars for periodic warmth and sustenance.<br />
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Of course we checked out some neighborhoods in the city, namely in West Asheville, and then in nearby Black Mountain, as well. I love envisioning other lives, other possible realities, even though the thought of packing up and moving right now gives me hives. There is a little nomad that lives inside me, though, and occasionally she gets restless...Asheville definitely warrants further study! </div>
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See all this garter ribbing? The beginnings of Eunny's <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/tangled-yoke-cardigan">Tangled Yoke Cardigan</a>. I'm using some destash Rowan Felted Tweed, the recommended yarn. Not a bad knit, though it strikes me as miles of stockinette, punctuated by a very scary cabled yoke. But right now, reassuring garter rib, pretty and soft, and then soothing stockinette. I will cross the cable bridge when I come to it. I have been in a knitting doldrum for months; starting things, not finishing them, frogging projects, putting other projects in time out...will this sweater find me my mojo?kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-80735284810865947682014-11-02T06:49:00.002-05:002014-11-02T06:49:57.214-05:00a cold and snowy trip to ashevilleAfter a few years of Samhain coming and going without much change in the weather, it appears that the day was actually the harbinger of winter, at least here in the southeastern US.<br />
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Pat and I went to Asheville for the weekend, to see the Avett Brothers play on Halloween night, which they did, in full Wizard of Oz get-up. A different kind of Samhain, and one that reminded me of the giddy fun that dressing up in a costume on Halloween night can bring. It's not something I do very often, these years, but seeing them up on stage, unrecognizable until they sang, it hit me again.<br />
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Then, we came home from the concert, checked into our motel, and slept, hard. Next morning...snow. </div>
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Spent the day roaming around in Asheville, tasting craft beers, admiring art in galleries, and generally freezing our asses off in the howling wind and nearly horizontal blowing snow. All this bluster amounted to about 3-4 inches altogether, and never did the roads freeze. </div>
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I love Asheville; like all college towns, it is walkable, and full of lovely things to eat and drink. There's a crazy, creative vibe here, as well as a terrific, folk-tinged music scene. The Avetts call it home, so the concert was extra shiny-happy, given that the boys were coming home after a tour. </div>
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Now. November. A month I used to dislike, but now it, like January, feels like a bit of a fresh start; the pagan new year, given Samhain is the last harvest. Time to tilt toward winter. </div>
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kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-82524639759747791392014-06-20T10:27:00.000-04:002014-06-20T10:27:03.110-04:00finished object and home improvements<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Proof that I do occasionally finish something! These mittens are a pattern that I sort of made up on my own, taking about 120 yards of worsted weight handspun Corriedale wool. One mitten is larger than the other, and the thumbs are wonky, but they are soft and warm. I like the rustic look and feel of them. The wool was "moorit" a reddish brown color of sheep. I started these mittens on my winter knitting retreat in February, knit one, and promptly forgot about them, until two weeks ago, when I decided I simply had to get stuff off the needles. I'm suffering a terrible bout of startitis, and am refusing to respond to it...<br />
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We're getting a flurry of home improvements done this next week or so. Today is day 1 of the HVAC servicing; ducts being super-vacuumed and cleaned out, plus a chimney/fireplace cleaning. Next week, the actual heating and AC unit will be tuned up. While our AC is working, it isn't working very well, and we're hoping to put off a system replacement for another year. Keep your fingers crossed!<br />
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Meanwhile, the presence of 3 service guys, a giant sucking hose and air compressors are causing Cricket to have a major meltdown. I crated him, but it didn't stop him from growling, barking and hurling death threats to the home invaders from hell - errrr, duct cleaning men. P took him out for a walk, just to keep everyone happy and safe. In retrospect, we probably should have just taken him out before the guys arrived, and kept him gone til the service was done, as they're all over the house right now...<br />
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Last week, I had the trees inspected, and was going to set up a trimming of some dead branches and trees off the power lines. The tree man pointed out a big oak on the side of our property and said "that is coming down!!" It wasn't even the tree that was causing me concern, as it seemed overall pretty healthy, with big leafy branches, and an annual acorn production that feeds our army of squirrels. It does grow at a leaning slant, but seemed well-rooted. Distressed, I called in an actual arborist for a consultation, and he and I walked our property, including the unfenced forested ivy jungle part of it. We actually own close to an acre, about 1/2 of which is fenced and more or less domesticated.<br />
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The arborist felt the big oak was healthy, and because of its angle of growth, and the lack of erosion around the tree, particularly at its tension roots on the back side, it was safe. But in the overall examination, he felt our big pine tree in the backyard was more of a hazard, as it showed a lightning strike scar, dead wood on high, and holes low down at the base. Further inspection revealed 2 rotted out dying poplars that also needed to go, as they would probably hit the house when they went down...<br />
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He recommended that I do the removal and any surrounding pruning in the fall or winter, during their dormancy period, rather than right now, mostly for the health of the remaining trees.<br />
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Anyway, I feel like money is flowing through my hands like water, and probably will continue to do so, for the time being. Good news is that I have work for next year, and work I actually enjoy, so that's reassuring. I can always sell stash to put food on the table...amusingly, I have managed to sell a few things recently, just because I idly put it on Ravelry as "trade or sell" status, though I wasn't actively trying to market it or anything. I might list a bit more, just to see what happens.<br />
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P retires at the end of this month, and will be solidly established back here by the end of July. Hilariously, he's already getting calls from colleagues about private sector work. He's pretty dead set on a serious vacation, first, as befits someone who's worked for 20 years straight in the same agency. After that, well, we'll see... I will be glad to have my husband home for more than a week or so. We have not lived together w/o him being on a regular travel schedule since 1996, if you can believe that! It will be an adjustment, but a happy one, I think.<br />
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sigh...I just got the news that the Atomic Lodge chimney needs repairing and a damper replacement. Arrgh.kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-86006169016898935332014-06-09T08:51:00.000-04:002014-06-09T08:52:30.356-04:00summer edition: hello red kayakGreetings from the other side! As in summer. Oh the solstice hasn't arrived, but summer's most significant indicator: school's out, came a week ago, though I was swimming in paperwork and workshops, so Friday was my first real summer day.<br />
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I celebrated by going kayaking early Saturday morning, with my friend Angela, who has a new boat she needed to break in. My own red kayak sees so little action, and I plan to change that this summer.<br />
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We put in at a local park with a lake, and paddled around in the flat cool water for a couple of hours. Relaxing and a great way to kick off the weekend. Promising each other we'd scout out other likely urban waterways for paddling fun, after it was over. Angela is also a knitter, and I'm thinking next time that I'm going to bring a sock to work on, though she doesn't seem convinced that this is a good idea. </div>
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Nothing new on the needles, or rather nothing much that I've photographed; I'm making the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/forest-canopy-shawl" style="text-align: center;">Forest Canopy Shawl</a> in some pretty handspun. I wanted easy lace that could go somewhere and be semi public knitting without too much drama. I am desperately trying to find my knitting mojo out there. </div>
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P's retirement is imminent, and I'm looking forward to having him here again, while being acutely aware that we haven't lived together without him being on a regular travel schedule since 1995. So having someone around every day will be an adjustment. I'm quite used to being the unquestioned chatelaine of the Atomic Lodge, and I'm hoping to somehow maintain my zen when we encounter this huge domestic shift. P doesn't seem nearly as worried about it as I am, which is typical of his optimism, and usually it's contagious. Sometimes I think we should think about getting a completely different place together, so we could start on a more equal footing...but really, in my world, I want to stop flipping houses everytime someone needs a change. </div>
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Spinning continues to be my main fiber pursuit these days: </div>
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I spun up this beautiful dark gray shetland over the past couple of weeks. It was a Christmas gift from my mom. Rather, it spun itself, into a light worsted. 8oz =405 yards of the pretty stuff. Two washings in Eucalan, and it still smells sheepy. I'm hoping that tones down a little over time. Our humidity is so intense right now that it didn't dry out completely when I hung it in the bathroom. So I put it in the truck, on the dashboard, and parked the truck in the sun. Now the truck smells faintly sheepy. I was actually spinning for a project, Lisa Lloyd's <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/tilly-2">Tilly</a> scarf. I love her book "A Fine Fleece," which is knitting for spinners, and I would love to spin for one of her sweaters, but for now, a scarf will do. I got the suggested 400 yards, so this is actually dedicated yarn. So nice to have a plan. To the someday goal of spinning for a sweater, I'm continuing to spin up mixed gray BFL, at roughly a dk weight, and just keeping it in my stash. At some point (4 oz at a time) I'll have a sweater's quantity of more-or-less uniform yarn, then I'll get serious. </div>
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Today's project is continuing the deep cleanse of the kitchen. I cleaned the fridge yesterday; it was unbelievably filthy, and now it's pristine. This makes me incredibly happy, and in the mood to keep pushing with the scouring of the house. </div>
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kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-51040165552116376332014-03-30T13:56:00.001-04:002014-03-30T13:56:24.871-04:00stash revelations, sickness, sleep, and sweetness. <br />
Last week, in a routine cleaning effort, I dumped out all my yarn, handspun, and spinning fiber for a stash fluff. What I discovered horrified me. No, silly, not moths. Worse. SABLE - stash acquisition beyond life expectancy, or at least life for the next couple of years. The fiber diet just got more serious. I love when life's lessons get reinforced by everyday acts. In the countdown toward Stitches South, and moving into April, when the WEBS fiber sale that got me into this trouble in the first place is coming up, my resolve is strengthened. No fiber acquisition.<br />
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There. That feels better. As always, browsing the stash is pleasant, knitting from it does not feel like walking in a dry, hot desert; rather, a place that merely calls for knowing what to do next in order to ensure one's survival. As a necessary first step, I think I am going to finish photographing and adding my stash to Ravelry. Yes. I am guilty of not having reported everything in those green Rubbermaid tubs. So I'm on it, and you should see the results in a few days.<br />
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A lot of things happened this past week.<br />
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I got really, really sick from a reaction to my NSAID, Diclofenac, and spent 48 hours puking, shitting, and sleeping. I feel great now. No. Really. There is no feeling as good as the feeling of recovering from a rapid, heavy-handed sickness. Especially when the illness means that one also gets to sleep and sleep. I arose on Friday morning, weak, happy, and ready to move forward. Knee brace on, ice pack in hand.<br />
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Friday evening, my friends Dave and Devlin visited. They were traveling back to VA, after being down in Florida, closing out Steve's estate. We spent the weekend talking, hiking at Arabia Mountain, getting together with Steve's ex-wife Sara, and generally catching up with each other's stories. These are people who have been in my life since college (late 70's, early 80's) and with whom I never feel I have enough time. So the weekend was pure sweet indulgence with many laughs, memories, and some healing. <br />
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Tomorrow I have jury duty. Tuesday, I have school STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) training at the district office. Recent frequent absences, and the time of year are starting to look like I need to spend a few 10 hour days AT work, starting next Wednesday, but it's all good. My job has a lot of paperwork, now, and while I'm pretty good at just putting my head down and grinding it out, I think I am going to just start working longer hours for the rest of the school year, to stay on top of it.<br />
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Right now, instead of yielding to the temptation to nap after a late night, I am going to shower, go to school to finish some lesson plans for my sub for the next 2 days, and then go eat some pho. I'll come home, do some dishes, and then go to bed early, because not only does jury duty require decent dress, it wants to see me at the Decatur courthouse at 8:15. Oy. Somewhere in the mix there will be a Cricket walk, and some knitting. </div>
<br />kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-6402041932211269972014-03-22T11:06:00.003-04:002014-03-22T11:06:44.693-04:00alban eiler: spring Oops! I fell off my effort to post daily on the blog. The week got too busy and I was working on report cards, so every time I sat down at the computer, I felt like I had to enter grades...<br />
It is finally Spring, according to the pagan/cosmological liturgical calendar. It's even reasonably warm, though today the sun has faded off into some greyness that is somewhat less than cheering. I am heading out tonight to a spring celebration in Gwinnett County with some druid practitioners I know, whose rituals I've started attending. They are pleasing, a small group, simple rites, earth and sky and sea centric. I am not an official member of their group, but a welcomed guest.<br />
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My knitters had their swap last week. I gave my swappee Gudrun Johnson's <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/crofters-cowl">Crofter's Cowl</a>, in green cashmerino aran. What a sweet pattern to knit. Even the grafting, 80 stitches in the round, was not difficult, and I think I may have finally mastered Kitchener stitch by memory. 80 stitches will do that...I also added in some homemade soap, stitch markers, and some rosemary shortbread that was to die for. Really. My own swapper gave me a skein of beautiful olive malabrigo worsted, destined to become <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cabled-tea-cozy">part of a cabled tea cozy</a>, I think. She knit me the long-queued, deeply-coveted <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/selbu-modern">Selbu Modern</a> hat, in some grey and charcoal alpaca/bamboo yumminess, and gave me the cutest green frog bowl, which is now holding hexipuffs, but I'm thinking next winter to use it to house some hyacinth bulbs for forcing. No pics because I am lazy, and I left the hat at work yesterday.<br />
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In my own knitting, I'm working hard to finish a gift for my upcoming Outlander Swap, and then it's back to the WIP effort. I'm feeling the itch to cast on a whole bunch o' things, but I'd like to get a few more things off the needles before that happens. Namely a pair or two of socks. I love wearing handknit socks, but damn, I hate knitting them... No. That's not strictly true. I like knitting them, I just find them slow and tedious. I get tired of the sock before the pair gets finished. I think I am going to take ONLY SOCKS to VA over my spring break so I can make some headway on the 3 pairs I have on the needles. If I finished even one pair, I would feel like I was making some forward movement in the effort.<br />
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I've been out of coffee this week. I'm trying hard to eat up the food in the house, so I haven't been to the store, which means there's been tea every morning. Today is no different. Now I have perfectly decent tea - Peet's Irish breakfast, with milk and a tiny touch of sugar, so it isn't really a hardship, and it is lovely with toast or a piece of the aforementioned rosemary shortbread. Yesterday I made a chai soy latte, and I'm thinking this period of no coffee might just be transformational. I have no intention of giving it up for good, but it's nice to go off it every now and then. It helps keep the tea stash trimmed to a reasonable size.<br />
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Other things going on this weekend: gym, serious housecleaning efforts to accomodate next week's houseguests, spinning guild (yayayayay!) and the associated Decatur errands of Rainbow Grocery(a tiny little health food store), preliminary shoe shopping, and barbecue eating.<br />
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<br />kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-90502750313571473892014-03-12T18:51:00.002-04:002014-03-12T18:52:36.529-04:00cocooningBecause yesterday was 75 degrees and beautiful, and today it's a mere 50, cloudy, and windy. I find myself out-of-sorts, and impatient, and suddenly, I understand why! gah...<br />
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I need a day off, and it isn't coming. Thus, I am taking the evening to <b style="font-style: italic;">cocoon</b>, at home with my dog. Some roasted vegetables, a martini, and some knitting. Playing catch-up on many, many episodes of The Walking Dead, which won't improve my mood, but my roomie/trailer-mate at work is antsy to discuss this season's episodes, and I'm not caught up, so duty calls...<br />
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Last night, Cricket went outside and raised holy hell, in the middle of the night. I gave up wishing he'd come in, and went out to check what he was up to. A possum was running along the fence, and he was chasing alongside it, barking his head off. He could have easily leapt up and snatched it off the 4 foot fence, but fortunately for the possum, Cricket is not a problem-solver kind of dog. Adrenaline junkie, yes. I got him in, and the possum escaped unscathed.<br />
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This image pretty much sums it up. A note on this image...it has shown up in my iPhoto imports and I can't remember how I got it. I like it, though, and so if it's yours, please drop a comment and let me know who you are so I can give you credit. Or ask me to take it down. I'm willing to do either or both. But it is a splendid shot of a worthy thing to remember. </div>
<br />kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-89378394489789533962014-03-11T18:13:00.001-04:002014-03-11T18:13:26.703-04:00showing up at the pageI don't feel all that inspired to write, but I'm making some changes around here, one of them being "showing up at the page" and just writing, whether I'm in the mood or not. I was all set to go to yoga this afternoon, but my knee is giving me problems, and I thought that I'd rather come home, take a diclofenac, and do some gentler, less knee-involved practice down in the basement. But I am so, so tired...I am trying to get myself to bed at a decent hour, and the new hour of daylight that we've uncovered is messing with that.<br />
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I was not at all upset when I was asked to cancel my ESOL classes today and sub for a 2nd grade teacher who couldn't get a sub. I am normally all about them, but I felt like I wasn't very prepared for my pull-out lessons, so subbing gave me an out - the true confessions of a slacker.<br />
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I think a nap on my <a href="http://us.bedofnails.org/">bed of nails</a> may be in order so I can find the strength to prep my lessons and even crawl onto that yoga mat this evening...<br />
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Digging up the yard yesterday for perennials. I moved a log aside, and lo! a salamander popped out. You can't see it, but he has pretty yellow spots on his sides. I see them so seldom that they are always a scary little thrill. </div>
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Okay, dragging myself to my rest. </div>
<br />kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-30309522837254827542014-03-10T20:08:00.003-04:002014-03-10T20:08:58.400-04:00a crocus can surprise you<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have always been interested in phenology; the activities of plants and animals in relation to changing seasonal and weather patterns. The march of spring is my favorite march, and this March is marching on. I spent a bit of time today, after a tea and knitting date with Debbie, in the yard - planting some Joe-pye weed I'd separated, sowing grass seeds on my ever-spreading bare spots, entertaining Cricket throughout, by throwing the little blue ball for him to find and fetch.<br />
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In the front yard, this crocus, that I'd forgotten about. I put some crocii in the first year we lived here, but our spring bulbs are so hit-or-miss here, with our hot summers, excessive rain, and deep shade. A crocus or two, and a measly daffodil is all I ever get. I dream of a sunny yard, with waves of jonquils, snowdrops, and hyacinths. Someday...meanwhile, I take the surprise, the brave striped crocus, as a sign.<br />
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Tonight is lesson planning, and organizing the recycling, taking out trash, and foraging for salad amongst the less-than-interesting denizens of the crisper drawer, when what I really want is a thick slice of Fellini's white pizza.<br />
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<br />kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-78287081916802433812014-03-09T12:32:00.001-04:002014-03-09T12:32:50.557-04:00getting awayI just booked Cricket care for 2 mini-vacations in the upcoming. Crick is a high maintenance dog, what with the aggression issues and general neediness. I use a paid service, with confident sitters who love him, and are unfazed by his tendency toward hysteria.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbhX9lumeYjED0KghAgqmO71A_cIbvrquLCVOHfovj3zR3KEY7MAPbiSa8gSJVvP-M_LFRDoq91rvNpzissmHLMsevF3Gh7wcs5d8ybkTYki9mp3WptffhnAr9C0_ccGQcPdPT/s1600/crick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbhX9lumeYjED0KghAgqmO71A_cIbvrquLCVOHfovj3zR3KEY7MAPbiSa8gSJVvP-M_LFRDoq91rvNpzissmHLMsevF3Gh7wcs5d8ybkTYki9mp3WptffhnAr9C0_ccGQcPdPT/s1600/crick.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>Caring for one dog, however, is far less expensive than caring for 2. Ella required 3 visits per day, due to medication issues, and while I never begrudged it; this is why I work, I was pleasantly surprised the first time I traveled and got care for just the one dog...of course Ella was an easy dog, who would cheerfully go to live in the homes of friends, loving their dogs, cats, and children...Cricket, not so much. </div>
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I'm going to the DC area to visit P one last time, before he retires and moves back here. It's a little bittersweet...my last forseeable mid-Atlantic spring, to a city whose spring is spectacular. Luckily, I'm hitting town around cherry blossom time, and so will take full advantage of that spectacle. Hoping to get some good pictures, and fully drink in the incredible loveliness of that place, in that time. I'll see some old friends, as well, and visit the usual hangouts. P and I will also take a mini vacation (work for him, vacay for me) to a rural conference center in West VA, for a couple of days. Time for me to hike, sip wine on the porch, and knit to my heart's content. </div>
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The second getaway is heading out to the Florida panhandle and Alabama beaches with my cousins. Oh yeah. My crazy West VA cousins are renting a condo on the beautiful, blue-sea'd, white-sanded beaches of 'Bama for a few days this spring. A 5 hour drive for me, and I am delirious with excitement. For seriously sure. I've always been a huge beach lover, and post Hawaii, the beach has been a rare luxury. My cousins and I usually only see each other at funerals, so to go somewhere together, during a time (knock wood) when we all are healthy, all employed, in stable relationships or happily single, is a glorious joy. There will be wine. There will be stories. There will be swimming in blue water. There will be seafood. There will be all manner of crazy, uplifting fun. They are departing the condo 2 days before I have to be back at work, so I'm taking the rest of the time for a leisurely backroads wander up through Alabama and south Georgia. Looking forward to that, too. </div>
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I need a getaway. Not to put too much emphasis on the harshness of the winter, as I did indeed embrace the cold for much of it, but I am much in need of warmer good times. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoI-Eja-QP2FoBSZAyQvaGBQo7o1NrmXcMhUEkVm3JMUjglVnFJWhREQ6_TPXrTpSTAcQVNy2CLnz24PL6WfF6WAG_VeRlHtFhXTlCA176fWKksEmhpS51QT4ZCGdNsdFQ99Ub/s1600/moi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoI-Eja-QP2FoBSZAyQvaGBQo7o1NrmXcMhUEkVm3JMUjglVnFJWhREQ6_TPXrTpSTAcQVNy2CLnz24PL6WfF6WAG_VeRlHtFhXTlCA176fWKksEmhpS51QT4ZCGdNsdFQ99Ub/s1600/moi.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>This is me, last month, embracing the cold, in Highland, NC. A retreat with the knitting guild, an unplanned snow-in, and a beautiful hike. </div>
kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-34576297691187772992014-03-08T10:20:00.001-05:002014-03-08T10:20:08.490-05:00a few little knits and a wish for springWhy hello there! It's just on the edge of spring, around here - that is to say, we've been enjoying our typical Georgia weather pattern of 40's>50's>60's>a day of gloriously 70 degrees, then back down to 40's and 50's again. But the daffodils are popping, and birds are singing their early spring courting songs, so I'm calling it spring.<br />
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Will I ever get back to regular blogging? I'm trying to play catch up in all aspects of my life right now. Somehow, a daily (or even weekly) blog post seems like an insurmountable task, but I do feel the jones to do more writing right now. I feel the jones to do many things, these days, and after the most difficult SAD-ly winter in recent memory, it's a welcome thing, believe me. Longer day length is making me very happy. I have tried very hard, this coldest winter, to embrace the cold, forcing myself outside for walks, wearing all my knitwear, buying a cheerful new red coat, and the effort has kept me getting out of bed, I do believe. I'm calling this winter done, and my project of surviving it a success.<br />
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Right now, I'm trying to drop a few pounds (well many, actually) by changing my eating a bit. I've broken up with bread and sugar for the most part, and am hitting the gym 2 - 3 times a week. I haven't lost much, but I've found more energy, and acquired a wee bit of waist definition, and my clothes are fitting a bit better. I was really having a crisis about what to wear, a couple of months ago, as it seemed the plumpness was taking its toll on the closet, and work clothes. I'm doing a lot of yoga, back to the Vinyasa style, and it feels so great. I joined the YMCA in my area, and the new yoga teacher is good. I miss Iyengar in some ways, mostly my matter-of-fact, no-nonsense teacher, but I wanted access to weights, elliptical trainers, and a pool, and so I had to sacrifice the Iyengar studio class. Gym yoga IS different from studio yoga, though, and the background in Iyengar is helping me to remember alignment, prop use, and just being safer in poses that the teacher sort of tosses out without much prep. I'm not a bendy 25 year old anymore...<br />
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I finished Fylingdales, finally. Did I blog this before? No. Here's a rundown of the knits of the last few months. I'm telling you how long it took me to knit them, to show you how erratic my knitting really is. Slow and binge-y, all at once.<br />
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Fylingdales, by Lisa Lloyd. 6 skeins of Bovidae Farms 2 ply worsted, mostly Corriedale, in the colorway Chicory. I have my complaints about this sweater, but warmth is not one of them. The yarn was fabulous to knit. If I did it again, I'd change the button band, and add more buttons, as it's a little gappy. This sweater was on the needles for about 16 months, which is ridiculous, given the ease of the pattern and the deliciousness of the yarn. I guess I was savoring it.<br />
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Osmena, a laceweight beret, knit on #2 needles, of Lang Baby Alpaca Grande. It is the perfect cozy hat, in a screaming orange, which keeps me from getting shot by deer hunters, as I ramble through the woods. I found the yarn in the sale room at Cast On Cottage last summer, and fell in love with the punchy orange popsicle color. It's soft, and yummy, and elevates my red coat into something loud and crazy. Which I kind of like. On the needles for 6 months. Again, could have been a quick knit, but I stretched it out. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGT_5_8sxWoPMZk8Z-_-x2y-dwioi4fQQuEavgx3XYhwxJhP0MaqroplO4K9GyoSB7a9e_F5tevMXptbr-xgFZlkWlilMrUWfaEl5WKJtpL2y9czBAxSeBkP21DyC1HAbsuI6z/s1600/Mapes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGT_5_8sxWoPMZk8Z-_-x2y-dwioi4fQQuEavgx3XYhwxJhP0MaqroplO4K9GyoSB7a9e_F5tevMXptbr-xgFZlkWlilMrUWfaEl5WKJtpL2y9czBAxSeBkP21DyC1HAbsuI6z/s1600/Mapes.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Mapes, a shawl knit for my mom from Malabrigo worsted, in the Applewood colorway. Mapes is a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#query=Barbara%20Benson&view=captioned_thumbs&sort=best&page=1">Barbara Benson</a> design. Barbara is in my knit group, and is pretty brilliant. I've had this pattern for a few years, and finally got around to knitting one. It's a good marriage, Mapes and Malabrigo, and I'm thinking it might happen again. My mom loves it! She is knitworthy in the extreme. This was on the needles for about 10 days, which is unusual for me to knit something that fast. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOr9oT56Nk-B4ciWyxTc-lRgrwtOhKJMHALAr4XJ6-R3F9l4iiAjJsmZYBnmIqhG0RJWSVxs0hC9fhPh_SONGmwK5I5ZOioF6mOaZfuuzZogb0KuT5c3dTmX9nXCHrU3HrUPmz/s1600/Leafed+Hat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOr9oT56Nk-B4ciWyxTc-lRgrwtOhKJMHALAr4XJ6-R3F9l4iiAjJsmZYBnmIqhG0RJWSVxs0hC9fhPh_SONGmwK5I5ZOioF6mOaZfuuzZogb0KuT5c3dTmX9nXCHrU3HrUPmz/s1600/Leafed+Hat.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>The Leafed Hat, from an old issue of Interweave. Malabrigo Chunky, in the Sealing Wax colorway. Yummy, squishy and fun. On the needles for a week. Fun and easy. I'm thinking Malabrigo is directly correlated to my finishing projects quickly. </div>
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I'm knitting other things, right now, a combo of desperate effort on my WIPs, and secret swap knitting. There's also the spinning: </div>
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Fibercharmer merino-bamboo, in the Giant Clam colorway. Sleek and beautiful. It's taking me a long time to get through this 4oz braid, due in part to busyness, and partly because my treadling knee (NOT the knee I dislocated 2 years ago) is acting up. I'm trying to coddle it, whilst maintaining a normal life, which may not be working - I might need to resort to full on coddling for a while. </div>
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I might add that there's a stash diet going on. I am not buying spinning fiber nor yarn this year, in an attempt to reduce the existing backlog, and to just safe a little money. I am not making any hard and fast rules, though. Stitches South is coming up in April, and my sis is coming up. She is on a similar austerity measure for fiber and yarn, but we both agreed that a giant yarnmarket in our backyard is perhaps not something to avoid. Stitches' new location is accessible by MARTA light rail, though, so we won't drive. This means that we won't be able to carry tons of purchases around, thus keeping us modest in our expenditures. Unless we buy quiviut. Quiviut isn't very heavy...</div>
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Today's agenda includes some housecleaning, the writing of lesson plans, a trip to Snellville to see the movie "August Osage County", the purchase of Cricket food, and some knitting and spinning. I've been up for a few hours already - since 6:30, without the help of the alarm clock(!) and have finally watched the season finale of Downton Abbey that was marinating on my dvr. Wow. I don't quite know how to let the Crawley family go for the next few months. As much as I enjoy Game of Thrones and Vikings, I have to say that Downton Abbey is my great television love. Well and truly. </div>
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I have some perennials to plant; bleeding hearts, hostas, and astilbes, and some grass seed to put into my patchy lawn. I think I'm going to save that task for tomorrow, though, which is supposed to be 70. Here's to spring! Please come, I've been waiting!</div>
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<br />kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-46208572526018054952013-11-03T13:51:00.001-05:002013-11-03T13:51:26.251-05:00i love november...... and I just realized it. It might be that November is Georgia's answer to the Mid-Atlantic region's October, which is that area's answer to New England's September. But it has just hit me, the day after Samhain, (though I consider us still in Samhain's cycle, maybe, though this morning's eclipse may have blown that away, but that's another story for another time) that I love this quiet, cooling month of release and contemplation. Everything darkening, ever slowly winding down before the energetic bang of Yule. Weather here, not too bad, though definitely with a cold snap. Still some pretty color, and no chance of heat. Reduced mosquitos are a bonus.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-9WRDKsj6xANRNZ_6pm9URZsGgB0QTM5pwk8H4LrILppO07rTh5nHaTkLhEZHHa4DHNxBENR-W9TXVebsBI57SWb9SYeRY0Hl_ktMoA8DXcaG2CC4DqjMbe6wmv3Cuc5NkP1K/s1600/frostyground.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-9WRDKsj6xANRNZ_6pm9URZsGgB0QTM5pwk8H4LrILppO07rTh5nHaTkLhEZHHa4DHNxBENR-W9TXVebsBI57SWb9SYeRY0Hl_ktMoA8DXcaG2CC4DqjMbe6wmv3Cuc5NkP1K/s320/frostyground.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Frosty yard! </div>
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Marigolds from Autrey Mill. These were appropriated for my Samhain altar. </div>
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Fallen fungus: aptly named Turkeytails. </div>
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We've had a frost, but only the one, and nothing too cold called for this upcoming week. I'm almost disappointed. I turned my heat on once last week, before I went off to Folk School, because I was sick, and it seemed that if I were warmer, I could maybe function better. Once I bounced back, the dial went down again. It came on automatically again, this morning, when the house temp went below 60. I didn't stop it, as it seemed the only way I was going to make it out of bed and to church...once up, I am fine. </div>
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Some knitting of a bright orange brushed alpaca hat, and some Cricket walking and yardwork are going on today. The cooking of collard greens and cornbread round out my Soul Food Sunday meal. Later tonight, I am off to my beloved Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve, for some night sky viewing and a lecture/class given by a shamanic astrologer in the area. The weekend has shaped up splendidly. </div>
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<br />kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-40418564465913830592013-10-31T20:14:00.002-04:002013-10-31T20:14:39.512-04:00under the milky way tonight. It's Samhain. Cool, humid, windy. The streets are alive with trick-or-treaters, but for once in my life, I am avoiding it. I didn't get a pumpkin or sweep the walk, earlier this week, and suddenly, I've been busy and so Halloween is happening without me, as I eat my takeout Cuban medianoche sandwich and dig my toes into Cricket's warm fur.<br />
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Yesterday, Burdock called me at work, to tell me that a dear old (from 1980) friend of ours had been killed in a motorcycle accident. I am stunned. His brother and sisters had been my dear friends for years - they were all my soul siblings in my college and twenties years. Time and distance had spread us, but we were still close. I cannot imagine the world without him, and my heart breaks for his family, his partner, his coworkers...<br />
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This year has been one for the books. Gary, an old D&D friend from that same era, Ella, and now Steven. sigh. The veil is thin, and many are passing through...<br />
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It has been the perfect fall day, the sad news notwithstanding. Cloudy and a little hazy, warm, windy. Trees finally turning, and leaves blowing in the breezes. Work was enjoyable, though I felt, in many ways, that I was fighting against the rising tide of child/sugar alchemy...glad to send the munchkins off to their costumes and parties for the evening. I am certain they will all be useless tomorrow.<br />
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This weekend, I am taking a stargazing class at Arabia Mountain - a granite outcropping in Lithonia, known for its good night skies. Usually it is closed to public access at dusk, but this class gets me in, and a hike to the top of its granite hump, to look at the late autumn stars. I will dedicate the trip to my friend Steven, who was a scientist, and lover of all things wild and natural.kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-64666901148518917922013-10-29T17:53:00.000-04:002013-10-29T17:53:45.740-04:00ebb and flowA friend of mine moved to Baltimore this summer, and is teaching in a tough inner-city school. We've been talking a lot about how to surf and survive the ebb and flow of the Universe. You know, that interplay of goodness and badness that comprises Life. She is young, and energetic, and hopeful - a great teacher, and I hope that she doesn't get knocked down too badly by the mercilessness of her work there.<br />
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Meanwhile, I have my own waves to ride. I haven't blogged in eons. Seriously. In one part, because I've been busy as a one-legged man in an asskicking contest, and in another, because things have happened that I just couldn't write about at the time they were happening. I finished school, my ESOL endorsement, and my massive writing project, finally - a piece of work that I am proud of. I was a mediocre student in high school and during my undergrad years, for so many reasons, none of them intellectual. Later, when I went back to school, I was surprised to find myself doing well, working harder, and learning more. I have felt like every academic experience I've had has pushed the girl who got a report cards full of C's (by the skin of her teeth) farther and farther away, til she is a distant stranger. This Georgia State program has been, by far, the most challenging piece of work I've done, and arguably the most rewarding. I've researched/written/edited more in the past year than in all the previous academic years combined, and I've learned some things: that I'm capable of being a good student, that I want to stay in touch, as a teacher, to the research and university community, and finally, that there will be no PhD for me. Ebb and flow, baby.<br />
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Summer was a blur of rain, more rain, and then some more rain. Really. It was freakish, every day was cloudy, the woods grew thicker, moss grew mossier, mold grew on every piece of leather we owned, as if we were living in HI still. Rats chewed a hole in the fuel line of my truck, a gas can, and the gas cap of my lawn mower. I never saw them, so it may have been chipmunks - I dunno. Spiders took over the house. Normally, I like spiders, but having them as my landlords kind of sucked, as did the my vacuum cleaning solution to the problem.<br />
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I taught at Tiger Mother Tutoring for my last summer, teaching a 4th grade writing class for my 3 Korean + 1 Ghanaian boys, and had a great time with them. I ran a literature circle in which we read "Shiloh," "Because of Winn Dixie," "Henry Huggins," and "The Secret Soldier." I tutored adults and negotiated dialogues and curriculum that dealt with auto accidents, gun control conversations, planning a trip to the gynecologist, and grocery shopping. I ate a lot of Korean food, and discovered a new Caribbean restaurant in Duluth.<br />
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I got a new job, at a school not too far from home, with an enormous Central American immigrant population, off my beloved Buford Highway, with a bunch of fun new coworkers. I'm teaching math, in an ESL role, collecting data, and working to plan and deliver parent workshops for moms and dads who want to become more involved in school. It's a ton of work, and I feel like I am never caught up. All the old problems I've had and seen and felt with teaching have arisen again, but I'm in a different place in my head, possibly due to the 2+ years of NOT being in public schools. I am enjoying my work, and being alive, making money, making friends, and the different routine.<br />
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I will always remember this summer as my last summer with Ella, my sweet friend and heart dog. She'd been hale and hearty for 15 years, but was growing progressively weaker, shakier on her feet, and in need of more TLC. We walked every day this summer, offleash, through the backwoods, in the neighboring field and little apple orchard. It was such a gift, having the time to spend with my old dog, in those last weeks, which I didn't realize were her last weeks, until she took a turn for the worse, on my birthday, and I made the decision to say goodbye to her. I will always love her. She is part of me, now, as she has been, since I got her as a pup.<br />
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I'm mostly okay, now. I spent days crying, more tears than I thought it was possible to shed. Ella was a huge part of my life, my heart dog, the one I depended on, to balance out the roller coaster of life with Cricket; she was my agility partner, the dog who was so intuitive and affectionate. We were always together, always touching, and I really didn't know what to do with myself, without her. P came down and spent 2 weeks here, and we mourned together, and worried about Cricket the singleton, and tried to get our heads and hearts around a new routine, and life. I went back to work, and now, I'm grateful, so very grateful for the job, and the realization, that even in the worst times, life goes on. Linda, Ella's breeder wrote me 2 weeks ago, letting me know that her litter sister Taz had passed on, as well, and that she was feeling the same; enormous loss, hole in the heart, and gratitude for life's gifts, as well. We are okay, really. Ella was a lively, vigorous dog, and had a no-nonsense, unsentimental outlook. I found a lot of comfort, in <a href="http://www.bedlamfarm.com/?s=poem%3A+do+dogs+die%3F">this poem by Jon Katz</a>, written this summer in his blog, two days before I lost Ella. It seems a fitting thing, to think of her running in fields, hunting with Orion's pack, sniffing, swimming, and drinking from ponds and creeks in the hereafter.<br />
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Cricket is doing fine. He has settled down somewhat, is quieter, less barky around the house. I try not to think much about his loss, and how socially isolated he, a dog-aggressive dog with few playmates, must be. He is a stellar companion, guardian, and friend, and we are enjoying each other. I'm struck by how much easier life is with only one dog - I felt a lot of guilt saying that, at first. But it's true, for now, at least. We are going to start working with a new trainer, in a few weeks, to address some of his anxiety/fear/aggression issues - a decision his dogsitter's boss and I made together, but it's all good. I love dog training, and welcome the new lessons. Ebb and flow, baby, ebb and flow.<br />
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I've been wanting to write about this summer for the longest time, and just found I couldn't put it all down. I don't think I did, still, but it felt like a hump I needed to get over, so I could come back to the blog, which has been around for so long that it seemed like a shame to just leave it hanging.<br />
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I am recently returned from a weekend at <a href="https://www.folkschool.org/">folk school</a>, where I spent three days making soap, new friends, and reconnecting to creativity and joy. I will write more about it later, but suffice to day, I have a new "making" thing to pursue.<br />
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<br />kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-45213964009572592132013-06-18T17:55:00.002-04:002013-06-18T17:55:34.521-04:00tweaks and adjustmentsJune is shaping up to be a sodden, muddy month, with big storms, torrential rains, and hard winds, at every turn. Added to that, is the heat, which isn't as bad as it could be, but is bumming me out, nevertheless. Sticky, 90-ish, and rainy has lost its appeal. I do like the thunderstorms, now, don't get me wrong. I'd just like some humidity-free sunshine in betweentimes.<br />
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They do provide for some spectacular cloudshows, though.<br />
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Last week, I went to Tucker, to meet some friends at the farmer's market. It was the week of the first Georgia peaches, and cause for excitement. We had just enough time to get our produce (cutiecumbers! new potatoes! Italian green beans! Peeeeeaaaaaaaches...) before a massive, storm hit (much like the one that's pounding us right now, in fact) forcing us into a local bar n' restaurant. Nice dinner, and then when it was over, a dramatic cloud show. I drove home through downed trees, and the aftermath of what turned out to be a tornado. Arrived to find my entire neighborhood without power, which wasn't too much of a thing, as we keep big man-killer flashlights by each door, and pagans always have candles, so I wasn't in the dark for long. It's nice to sleep in a completely dark neighborhood. No ambient lighting at all, and a powerless house is so. very. quiet. I spun the rest of my brat-paca by candlelight, and listened to music on iTunes til my laptop battery died. Power came back on late the next afternoon, just in time to salvage my freezer full of food, which was a happy thing; I didn't relish a meat-cooking extravaganza, nor throwing it all out. </div>
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I plied the brat-paca, which is 2oz of green suri alpaca with firestar, and 2oz of reddish alpaca from the Big Island of Hawaii, courtesy of Acornbud. That was some sweet spinning, but man, oh man, was that Hawaiian alpaca dirty!! I can picture the alpaca lounging around in the red dust of Hawaii, rolling around in the mud, wallowing in the vog...I expected it to wash out into a white fiber, but it was truly red, and very soft and pretty. </div>
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At the risk of descending this blog into the zone of the ridiculous and possibly NSFW (especially if you work with alpacas) I share a video; some inappropriate but inspired silliness. </div>
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I'd share the brat-paca yarn (sportweight, shiny marled green and brown goodness) but I put it outside after washing it, to hang dry, and it is currently being rained on. Meh. A little more washing won't hurt that alpaca...so no spinning. Practically no knitting, either, except that I will offer you a gratuitous hexipuff: </div>
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I have been assimilated into the cult of the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-beekeepers-quilt">Beekeeper's Quilt</a>, after years of curiosity. The puffery is fun, a little addictive, and I don't see myself finishing this thing for like a million years. But it is a portable little project for my light rail rides to GSU, or my lunch hour. Trouble is, I realize I need to knit more socks so I'll have leftover sock yarn to make the silly puffs. I am adding a wee bit of lavender in each of my puffs, because in some distant future, when I am an ancient crone, I will lay me down under a lavender-scented puffy quilt...this puff is made of Koigu, and happens to be the only thing I have ever completed successfully in that yarn, despite my obsessive love of the stuff. Koigu, like Kidsilk Haze, just confounds me, for no good reason. But I love it hard. </div>
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So I realize that I am well and truly sick of working for the Tiger Mother Tutoring Business, and am looking for work. Hard, in a hard market, especially when one is working and going to school. I am in the happy position of being able to sub this fall for some $$ and Tiger Mother will take me back to work, (assuming there are students in need) should I desire this. But I need a change, at least a temporary one. My commute is too long for the $$ I am making, and the part of me that wants to be administrative, and make organizational changes in an organization that doesn't want to change is frustrated. Even something as simple as requesting that our students bring water bottles instead of providing them with a zillion styrofoam cups at the water cooler, gets shot down. Never mind that the water cooler is replacing a water fountain that hasn't been repaired in a year. Ditto the busted toilet in the boys bathroom, forcing us to have co-ed bathrooms (does not bother me, but it's a symptom of bigger issues) When I finally got my own students to bring in water bottles, and they left them in the room, the ones that appeared "disposable" were thrown away by a custodian. Grrrrrrr!!! I'm having to share my classroom this summer, because I am working only two days a week, and the teachers who use the room use all my post-its, paper, and supplies, and stuff I've bought with my own money. Arrgh. I want a different scene altogether, and miss the days of having my own personal fiefdom of the classroom. It feels good to vent my spleen about this here. I am on very good terms with my boss, and I've given notice for my departure at the end of the summer. Now my personal challenge is to fight the short-timer syndrome...</div>
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Work frustration, hot flashes in a hot summer, and old dog hijinx are playing havoc with my sleep patterns, resulting in me falling apart, and it's not even Litha yet!! Ugh. I've started a yoga class after a hiatus; a new vinyasa class with the parks department, and I'm re-embarking on Project Z, again, to try and fix my sleep, or lack thereof. We are early in the process, so I haven't seen any huge results yet. </div>
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Am I the last person to have discovered the blog <a href="http://kitchen-parade-veggieventure.blogspot.com/">A Veggie Venture</a>? In my quest to make green beans with new potatoes, a dish from my Grandma Carr's table, in my rural Virginia childhood, I stumbled onto it, with insanely delicious and simple results! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg81vkgYQnW72tILga7-jpP9RWQK1Nc3_FOvTZ8-wzwHoaSC7oZ-7kne3-86ns7J7TO-Alrx_MUu082N13LV1fGTifypjHvdPsB6yHqhP9bvjWiT89GYwygKr5ts0OGaCDToqFV/s1600/newpotatoes+n'+green+beans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg81vkgYQnW72tILga7-jpP9RWQK1Nc3_FOvTZ8-wzwHoaSC7oZ-7kne3-86ns7J7TO-Alrx_MUu082N13LV1fGTifypjHvdPsB6yHqhP9bvjWiT89GYwygKr5ts0OGaCDToqFV/s320/newpotatoes+n'+green+beans.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://kitchen-parade-veggieventure.blogspot.com/2008/05/best-ever-new-potatoes-green-beans.html">http://kitchen-parade-veggieventure.blogspot.com/2008/05/best-ever-new-potatoes-green-beans.html</a></div>
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Considerably less porkified than the ones from my childhood, and smashingly buttery and delicious! Serious country food. </div>
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Hopefully my whining hasn't ground you down, dear readers. In lieu of any real sunshine here, I leave you with a bit of sunshine from my neighborhood. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9xyE2fOEeFImlABRT0avi2mlDz-mgfqlw6GdN7_3QlX5vUN1ZWPmX1wo8Sn_XuCpVD07HnZiGzb3yx4uS-U1b_d7bc0V43xJ_ZfOFhUzXbzn3Ym1S7kDBFsbkpMewakUmgMjk/s1600/pinecones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9xyE2fOEeFImlABRT0avi2mlDz-mgfqlw6GdN7_3QlX5vUN1ZWPmX1wo8Sn_XuCpVD07HnZiGzb3yx4uS-U1b_d7bc0V43xJ_ZfOFhUzXbzn3Ym1S7kDBFsbkpMewakUmgMjk/s320/pinecones.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Our neighborhood school crossing guard spends hours embellishing pine cones and arranging them in little vignettes at the corner near the school. This pile of sunny yellow cones reminds me of (look out, geekish moment coming up!!) the scene in one of the Song of Ice and Fire books, at the Iron Isles kingsmoot, where Asha Greyjoy dumps out a treasure chest full of pinecones all over the floor, and proclaims "The gold of the North!"I do love me some Asha Greyjoy...</div>
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kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-33806348751343640012013-06-08T12:38:00.001-04:002013-06-08T12:38:25.793-04:00new moon in Gemini...happening even as we speak, or rather, as I write this. It is a cool, humid day here in the Georgia woods, and I'm getting geared up to do some house and yard work, after a spinach-mushroom omelet. Later in the day, some bbq will happen.<br />
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Most of my energy the past week or so has gone toward figuring out my new summer schedule, with teaching on Monday/Wednesday, some tutoring in the eves (though a greatly reduced schedule) and my last grad class on Tuesdays and Thursdays - a culture class.<br />
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I've been excused from some of the assignments for said class, as I covered the content in the culture standard of my portfolio, and instead, will be working for my professor, editing and writing some documents for our department. I'm not sure this is a good thing - it's flattering, but I have a sneaking suspicion it will also be a shitload of work, and may extend beyond the parameters of importance I'd be giving a simple writing assignment. Apparently this is what happens when I wish for new horizons and ask the Universe to help me grow as a writer...<br />
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So now my task is to ask the Universe to help me manage this stuff. Oh the neverending balancing act of the perennial underachiever!<br />
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I taught myself to chainply, and made this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGLgsmzVRhdCaNnU6QVcZY-SLsAYvvqGSpYKtfg171kCbpq0w600C-uOmG1t17m3ap5WGWig8VPqg3Ll1G4PmXHsn3yVt7wTz7Wvh4Zi0DcmPmpUx_noH-dSudSDtMhP_4GRz/s1600/butterflybushbfl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGLgsmzVRhdCaNnU6QVcZY-SLsAYvvqGSpYKtfg171kCbpq0w600C-uOmG1t17m3ap5WGWig8VPqg3Ll1G4PmXHsn3yVt7wTz7Wvh4Zi0DcmPmpUx_noH-dSudSDtMhP_4GRz/s320/butterflybushbfl.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
That cute Butterfly Bush roving from the last entry. 230 yards of sport-dk weight squishy bfl. There are breaks and flaws throughout, but the chain ply (Navajo ply, but I'm not Dine, so I figure I should be politically correct) is no longer a mystery to me.<br />
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I went to a fiber flea market, last week, in Atlanta. I spent way too much money, for things which were very reasonably priced, which means that I bought a lot of stuff. Arty batts, and merino and wensleydale roving from someone's destash, someone's wonderful old project bag, for 50 cents. Two cones of yarn, priced at $3 each; the first, a 100% brown wool, looks to be like a single ply Lamb's Pride mill end? Maybe? Another mystery yarn, heathery green, which passed the burn test, but only partially passed the bleach test, and so I've identified it as maybe 50% wool, both laceweight. The green softened up when I skeined some and gave it a bath. There's like a zillion yards, and I am thinking maybe a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/whisper-cardigan">Whisper Cardigan</a> for myself, and then passing the rest of it along to my sis, and another friend who has a loom and may want warping yarn. Lots of warping yarn.<br />
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In other news, I am putting the miles on Mr. Cricket, in an attempt take his crazy energy down a notch.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP3O-Eq98DfsrjB6lYTJkaZXJiPAMjAOzuzbYvX7EHyJ1KpilFxfMtUpq5-bqXZrKjMkD4lxhYlejlEoV3zhu88i1G9jdaNOUClredxfjQu0RYBXtgMoi9XnS2KabWw9P5E4jz/s1600/feet+to+feet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP3O-Eq98DfsrjB6lYTJkaZXJiPAMjAOzuzbYvX7EHyJ1KpilFxfMtUpq5-bqXZrKjMkD4lxhYlejlEoV3zhu88i1G9jdaNOUClredxfjQu0RYBXtgMoi9XnS2KabWw9P5E4jz/s320/feet+to+feet.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Somebody needs a haircut. </div>
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<br />kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-30116461512500691162013-05-20T12:38:00.000-04:002013-05-20T12:38:29.621-04:00It's mid-May already??! Well Spring just keeps moving on through, and this morning, a warm, foggy one, I realized that it smells and looks like Summer, here in Atlanta. It has been a cool, wet spring, one full of pollen and huge rains, which have caused the green world to explode, before everything settles down to the stuporous heat of my favorite season.<br />
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April flew by; seems like every time I decide to post regularly, I get busy and a month goes by. The highlights of life since my last post include my sister's visit, Stitches South and a wonderful class taken with Anna Zilboorg on fair isle techniques and steeking, lots of work; tutoring, subbing, and writing for the portfolio, and a rainy day hike on Arabia Mountain. I visited P in DC, and hung out in the Love Bubble for 4 days, looking at art, visiting friends, eating delicious food, and generally enjoying myself.<br />
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A couple of FO's to show, as well. The first is a fun, fast, easy joy: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/out-of-its-own-league-jar-cozy">Chelsea's "Out of Its League Jar Cozy"</a>, knit here in Noro Kureyon:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9rn_CWRbwvoDvGvUhbENYfB57keiax17qSWgVQiVPvsuTn5nO_RQ5L9pTucyUoTuEhLgTQfJzCUvt9tkKWddIkr8yToNvR5NXYRiEydha4u1JqUTf-SJFlvtMB1uMk9o3cqi/s1600/Jar+Cozy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9rn_CWRbwvoDvGvUhbENYfB57keiax17qSWgVQiVPvsuTn5nO_RQ5L9pTucyUoTuEhLgTQfJzCUvt9tkKWddIkr8yToNvR5NXYRiEydha4u1JqUTf-SJFlvtMB1uMk9o3cqi/s320/Jar+Cozy.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Note the use of the Cuppow device to turn a quart jar into a sippycup. My new iced tea delivery vehicle. I am pleased as punch with this thing, and highly recommend this pattern as a gift or a quick knitting pick-me-up. It helped me to face the endless short rows and tiresome painful garter stitch torment of <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/kbrow/pendulum">Pendulum</a>, which I finally finished. Blogger is not letting me upload the pic, so you'll have to use the rav link to see it. I did not enjoy knitting Pendulum, and I think it's oddly shaped and weird looking when you lay it out flat, but it's squishy and soft and warm and the Malabrigo Arroyo is a luxury yarn, in my book, in incredible colors. ETA: Pendulum!! The way I wear it, as a big scarf.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeMitIBZKQD1VEYEdIHk3aK3O4eyK3O-5ib_2-dl-Ld2nHtSuKFTAjLpZqbDPgADZoF-HCmDLS50-I7Nre-OEe0UYptUOKAaPAVok-gnmE4kRxiT9U14PebMw3egYEC8kmB_xL/s1600/pendulum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeMitIBZKQD1VEYEdIHk3aK3O4eyK3O-5ib_2-dl-Ld2nHtSuKFTAjLpZqbDPgADZoF-HCmDLS50-I7Nre-OEe0UYptUOKAaPAVok-gnmE4kRxiT9U14PebMw3egYEC8kmB_xL/s320/pendulum.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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School is nearly out, and my round of 12-hour workdays and 1 day weekends are coming to a close. I'm trying to get the house decluttered and deep cleaned, and the yard tamed down, before the heat becomes too oppressive, and I start combining my summer job with my last class at GSU. A 10-day staycation is coming up next week, and P is driving down to hang with me, with nothing more complicated planned than hiking, cooking and maybe putting the kayak into the Chattahoochee. I am already thinking about Summer's joys.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEo7XFNDo09rcaO9RH-jxmgvKnUNMjezEl50gNzQg3CZ8RXKnHHRNHL5bgqRyy9pGyZbDGkTBYzrLnAuatfEuqoBYVF9OWknEZRlP4CxQJRz4YYAlIoBItLNwFGKU7x_b4HjIF/s1600/waffle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEo7XFNDo09rcaO9RH-jxmgvKnUNMjezEl50gNzQg3CZ8RXKnHHRNHL5bgqRyy9pGyZbDGkTBYzrLnAuatfEuqoBYVF9OWknEZRlP4CxQJRz4YYAlIoBItLNwFGKU7x_b4HjIF/s320/waffle.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br />kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-85422592016430006152013-03-09T18:55:00.001-05:002013-03-09T18:56:01.653-05:00off and on the wheel I love my spinning, even though technical problems abound, and I have much learning to do. This is some recently spun, a bit scratchy, mixed wool from my sister's trip to the VA Fiber Festival at Montpelier, VA last fall. I like how there's a bright golden line running through much of the yarn.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2LwAGlCTJgalLOQOYiPvRLfUr_s1d52eov0_yB2j_wzAhkJ9BVGOi_e61WmfMA0MjIJ3k8fdvi8rj2VxBIEGie2AgMRT2KviVtdeKuJKgAaTFZWZlfthx-DJ2MA-EK0x6z51S/s1600/tiger's+eye.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2LwAGlCTJgalLOQOYiPvRLfUr_s1d52eov0_yB2j_wzAhkJ9BVGOi_e61WmfMA0MjIJ3k8fdvi8rj2VxBIEGie2AgMRT2KviVtdeKuJKgAaTFZWZlfthx-DJ2MA-EK0x6z51S/s400/tiger's+eye.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Most of my spinning at this point is 2 ply, because I suck at Navajo plying, and only practice it at the end of plying when I have a single leftover to waste. That, of course is not going to get me anywhere. I have some white Romney-alpaca that I think I am going to dye with kool-aid and spin up in singles to practice the Navajo plying - in part because it was super-inexpensive, and because Romney-alpaca drafts like a dream; I won't have to work very hard to spin up this stuff. </div>
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Before that, however, there's this...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLNzEjAcFZ23eXPJZn_4EzQOsC6YcLhyphenhyphenm5SE4BTYWvcR_6pJzjxPmBuKDRj2-AxTEONYpe6ubFhWeE2ZIYZEaH6LWkJ0xvc1a-ImyQaCHlgHwhfWCbNMMlos_lILEERy-SxNW/s1600/butterfly+bush.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLNzEjAcFZ23eXPJZn_4EzQOsC6YcLhyphenhyphenm5SE4BTYWvcR_6pJzjxPmBuKDRj2-AxTEONYpe6ubFhWeE2ZIYZEaH6LWkJ0xvc1a-ImyQaCHlgHwhfWCbNMMlos_lILEERy-SxNW/s640/butterfly+bush.jpg" width="640" /></a>I have been stalking this fiber, a mixed bfl, in Fibercharmer's Butterfly Bush colorway forever. Always with an itchy Etsy trigger finger, but never quite ready to buy...then, last week, I just happened upon a listing for it on SALE, at a considerable discount, and bang! Sold. I have no real plan for it, beyond spinning it up and enjoying the weird juxtaposition of purple, orange and lime...it is squishy and soft beyond measure. </div>
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A gratuitous Cricket picture...just because he is handsome, and he, too, is squishy and soft beyond measure. </div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjB2unPCDTUUuz09qi72K2DSmDcivRdD9oI0lIsq2lp6hypAKodqVh0DQZVr7qjp4T5mkPbjcMTfHt31aMfhO_QtpEimgFAeWvwnnbra7yECmF8LGBk-eNmm7U-UJ2gQZLmf8C/s1600/Mr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjB2unPCDTUUuz09qi72K2DSmDcivRdD9oI0lIsq2lp6hypAKodqVh0DQZVr7qjp4T5mkPbjcMTfHt31aMfhO_QtpEimgFAeWvwnnbra7yECmF8LGBk-eNmm7U-UJ2gQZLmf8C/s640/Mr.jpg" width="640" /></a>kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-28009909109924664522013-03-08T09:33:00.001-05:002013-03-08T09:33:02.827-05:00friday is my friendHow did it get to be March? Wasn't it just January a day or so ago? We've been enjoying the lion/lamb weather here - one day in the 30's, with biting winds, a night of howling thunderstorms, a day to cherish, in the 60's with soft sunshine and joyous birdsong...still, it's supposed to be cold, so I'm enjoying the rollercoaster ride.<br />
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Friday is my day off, usually, unless I take a sub day, which I often do, to supplement the finances. Today, however, is my next-to-last PT appointment, so I didn't work. It's a nice feeling, the whole glorious springy day unfurling in front of me. I'm going to drink this coffee, go to PT, and then on to REI, where I have a $20 off a $50 purchase gift certificate. Then home to do yardwork, namely pick up the million limbs and sticks and pinecones which the last round of storms deposited. I am grateful that my fences are intact, still. I'll pick up the sticks, rake the yard out a little and sow some grass seed on the barer spots.<br />
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I am not a grassy yard queen, by any means. But I do have dogs, who like to lay in grass, and I have a big backyard, which otherwise would be dirt or ivy and weeds, so some cool-season fescue growing in one swath of the space is perfectly appropriate. I put in some native plants last fall, wild ginger, mugwort, and already have a small patch of goldenrod and white asters growing up, so am hoping they thicken up. My attempts to nurture the joe-pye weed of 2 years ago resulted in 1 sad little plant, which bloomed enthusiastically, but who can say? It is a favorite roadside perennial of mine. We'll see how it does.<br />
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I've been brewing kombucha, this past month, with some success! I joined a kombucha lovers group on Ravelry, (Ravelry has everything, doesn't it?) and a member sent me a scoby (Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast - in other words, a kombucha culture) which I tossed into a gallon jar of sweetened strong English Breakfast tea, and let ferment in the clamcave for a week. The clamcave has become my fermentation chamber, because it's the warmest room in the house, during the winter, for some reason. The scoby is like a big muscular pancake. Not pretty to behold.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaOpvSHcWI8kTINDrSWTlQ-xuJh6tL2d9xS-U4ZnCCEkBF5RI6C0s4jIvblLE4LfFHIs8ceneMLGEPXG0whYtNKc9vn9tol0jnJyGdiMDAehs1jEMMSlq-JNpHFnxqgD0JpPXd/s1600/Mother+Scoby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaOpvSHcWI8kTINDrSWTlQ-xuJh6tL2d9xS-U4ZnCCEkBF5RI6C0s4jIvblLE4LfFHIs8ceneMLGEPXG0whYtNKc9vn9tol0jnJyGdiMDAehs1jEMMSlq-JNpHFnxqgD0JpPXd/s320/Mother+Scoby.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu0rkdfFwZLaKM-oldv2QlFhgV60QzlGT2xLeGtuvXdwROZgc6yxUW0v0Kjg2oeQORjcqNcWUff58XHx2r-UzaK0lGiDPoFaHt3D4xsa5KLmCDZdGK-2Kcme73oEqY84GlMXxL/s1600/kombucha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu0rkdfFwZLaKM-oldv2QlFhgV60QzlGT2xLeGtuvXdwROZgc6yxUW0v0Kjg2oeQORjcqNcWUff58XHx2r-UzaK0lGiDPoFaHt3D4xsa5KLmCDZdGK-2Kcme73oEqY84GlMXxL/s320/kombucha.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Then I strained off the slightly fizzy, slightly vinegary stuff, and bottled it, placing in each bottle 10 squashed blueberries and some slices of fresh ginger. Let that bottle-ferment a few days, and then fridged it. The result was yummy, red, fruity, slightly carbonated and altogether delicious. I've got a gallon of green tea fermenting right now, and will bottle it with some fresh raspberries and ginger later this afternoon. Soooo looking forward to that. I'm really pleased to add kombucha fermentation to my post-apocalyptic skillset, as buying the bottles, at $3.99 per 16 oz was a bit ridiculous.<br />
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Have I showed you <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-lady-edith">The Lady Edith?</a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguMqhKYY7-OQegDzvawyOXHFMPgTQqfI3pKjea-rjRP8_G266cFLHuRAr8WUeS6USgjkj2o4HLTfb3dRS8ud1ICkTk6C_l0m_YqEe3gNjEVSIwZf73hG1jk2my5lGiikYGY9VK/s1600/Edith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguMqhKYY7-OQegDzvawyOXHFMPgTQqfI3pKjea-rjRP8_G266cFLHuRAr8WUeS6USgjkj2o4HLTfb3dRS8ud1ICkTk6C_l0m_YqEe3gNjEVSIwZf73hG1jk2my5lGiikYGY9VK/s320/Edith.jpg" width="320" /></a>She is coming along nicely - I'm now about 8 repeats in, and getting ready to start the decreases. I am in love with this yarn: Dragonfly Fibers Dragon Sock yarn, in the Bougainvillea colorway. Red and pink always elevate my mood. I only have 400 yards of the stuff, so it's going to end up being a tiny little shawl - which I'll block the hell out of, but it's an easy, portable knit, anyway. It was a KAL with <a href="http://acornbudsyarns.blogspot.com/">Acornbud</a>, who (of course!) has already completed and is wearing her much larger shawl.<br />
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I had a bit of a panicky crisis at the end of February, when my professor emailed me requesting a draft of my exit portfolio, even though I'm not exiting my program til the end of July. I had put it on a back burner, and had not written a word since December 10, when I had sent her my first draft. I was not the only person in my program in this boat, however, and we panicked together, resulting in a week of nervous breakdowns and frantic writing to bring ourselves up to speed. I am NOT done with this sucker by a long shot, and am hoping to have a reasonable draft (ie, one that needs tweaking but is in the ballpark) by 17 March, when I have to face her in person, because I am speaking at a conference with her that day...needless to say, this upcoming week is one of writing and reading and thinking and rounding up artifacts.<br />
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But today, Friday is most definitely my friend, and I shall enjoy the moment.<br />
<br />kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17792732.post-44922454265645412282013-02-14T08:39:00.002-05:002013-02-14T08:43:45.623-05:00tenderI haven't quite worked up to shooting and displaying the status of all my WIPs, but I think that's coming. For now, here's a peep at a thing I did actually finish in 2013, the first FO!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRfsYAo-r2eOICjA1UwL6q73INM0gBblt96V2K0pqsNOCmwtAYk5T3VDB1AFVXpmw6nKxa-0kQXfwy7kATrsobe-5r_JvQ2Ry3DiRe9k3_wc9g1icJKUH7Vo7NQSyeRpi2CPlv/s1600/dulles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRfsYAo-r2eOICjA1UwL6q73INM0gBblt96V2K0pqsNOCmwtAYk5T3VDB1AFVXpmw6nKxa-0kQXfwy7kATrsobe-5r_JvQ2Ry3DiRe9k3_wc9g1icJKUH7Vo7NQSyeRpi2CPlv/s320/dulles.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's the <a href="http://www.cafemama.com/2007/nov/19_iad_hat_pattern.html">IAD(dulles) hat</a>, by cafemama, a pattern I've knit before. An easy mix of knits and purls, to which I added a silly braided tassel for emphasis. One lovely, squishy, heartbreakingly beautiful skein of Malabrigo Twist, in the BEST colorway ever, "Tender." A mix of bloody reds, clay and soft, sage greens. So unexpected that I had to buy it last summer, because I'd never seen such a juxtaposition, before, or so I thought. Later, recalling my utter surprise, my first return spring in VA, in 2001, that new tree buds weren't "spring green," but grey, red, purple, brown...and the mountains aren't really green in March and April, but instead, this dappled golden mix of bud-colors flecked with green. So maybe a "tender" color. I dunno. </div>
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My heart is tender this morning, Valentine's Day, to be spent alone, with dogs and work all day. Huge sorrow, for a friend who prepares to say goodbye to an adored new dog, a pup who has been diagnosed with an unusual orthopedic condition that would require a $2,000 operation, plus dysplasia in both hips. This would maybe be do-able, as he's young, but he's also displaying unpredictable temperament problems, resource guarding...she is a dog trainer, and works a lot with therapy dogs, and needs a working partner. They have not been able to successfully address the resource guarding issue, and it seems to be increasing. She phoned his breeder, who won't take him back. I know that she is utterly wretched, right now, laid low by this blow, which comes on the heels of losing her beloved older dog to hip issues last year. </div>
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What happens to the "perfect storm" of a dog? In Cricket's case, learning management tools, relentless obedience training, and the judicious use of a crate helped me to keep a dog who has, on occasion, bitten people, attacked other dogs, and is fearful and anxious, due to breeding, lack of early socialization, and traumatic experience as a puppy. But Cricket doesn't resource guard. He has not shown aggression to me, and I can introduce him to people, through the use of toys and treats. Once you're in with Cricket, you're in. But I can feel some of my friend's heartache. I support her decision to euthanize, as the breeder won't take him back (another rant for another day) and she feels he can't be successfully rehomed. I know she will release him humanely and with love, and that this was not an easy decision to make. My love goes with her, this day. My own dogs' breeder would have taken Crick back (I signed a contract saying if I couldn't keep him, she was to be the first rehoming choice), had I desired to rehome him, but of course, that was never a consideration. Cricket, the birthday boy, is here to stay, a boon companion. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTOEhsUI4fORjW7V1qIpSxXKf4Re90YPxmt0Go3M1RUXXgZyRSjGmqgSnBSP5XaPN-6wqHZy3WEWUSTJaUydyS-pRzPBJwmXy8lo-4NlqjkXr8CrxgowHJ8b5dHtXbJBhT8BGs/s1600/hellebore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTOEhsUI4fORjW7V1qIpSxXKf4Re90YPxmt0Go3M1RUXXgZyRSjGmqgSnBSP5XaPN-6wqHZy3WEWUSTJaUydyS-pRzPBJwmXy8lo-4NlqjkXr8CrxgowHJ8b5dHtXbJBhT8BGs/s320/hellebore.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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On to another tender thing, and a happier one. My hellebores bloomed this week - a true Lenten rose! Tender in hue, and a glad thing, since I planted them 2 years ago, and considered moving them, as they've done little up to this point. Finally, flowers! They seem to be spreading, as well. </div>
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Happy St. Valentine's Day to all my readers. To my wolves, pagans, and partiers, a festive and fertile (however you may interpret it) Lupercalia! May we be blessed with tender hearts, no matter how much trouble they give us. </div>
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kbrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10563224602453410284noreply@blogger.com2