Catching Up

Sorry I haven't posted much. I've been slacking off, but I've been pretty busy and just hadn't gotten around to the computer.

The only really big thing that has happened over this last week is that I and several friends visited the Pufpaff Fiber Mill in Nashville, MI. Didn't know Michigan had a Nashville, but low and behold there it was. It was a long drive, but is was fun. We all got to see the sheep, llamas and alpaca. Really, for the life of me, I couldn't tell the difference between an alpaca or llama. They both looked alike. The owner walked us through all the steps of processing raw wool. We saw where she washed and/or dyed it if needed. The drying room was next. It looked a little like barracks with netted hammocks hanging from PVC piping. The wet wool was snuggled in the hammocks. It looked kind of yucky at this point. Then we got to see the carding machine. That was really neat. I took pictures, but of course haven't gotten them downloaded yet. Hopefully tonight. We also learned how to hand felt a small project. There is a fine line between using just enough soapy water and too much soapy water. I, of course, used too much. And squeezed too much too obviously because I had oodles and oodles of suds going. Neither Jess or Elizabeth L. were getting that many suds. It was fun, but I don't know if it will be me. Which may be a relief, as that is one less craft bug that I wasn't bit by. The owner also showed us her patterns and explained how to knit or crochet straight from roving instead of spinning and then knitting. She had this lovely afghan on her sofa that was soooo soft. I bought some roving to attempt a pair of felted clogs knitted from roving. Will see how that goes.

Monkey Update: I have the socks done and everyone done except 1 sewing related item that I was supposed to have gotten done this last weekend. It will get done this weekend as I am going to a Quilt Retreat this weekend and all of those supplies will be going with me.

I Plied My First Yarn!!

I learned how to Ply my spinning last night. Over this last spring and summer, I have been learning to use a drop spindle. Vicki from Simple Knits showed me. It is quite addictive, but I had set my spinning aside to do the Monkey Swap. At the Fiber Frolic on Saturday, I asked Liz Mathews how to ply using a drop spindle. She told me to use a ball winder to wind the spun wool. Then ply the ball together from the outside string and the inside string. So I tried that on Sunday. Big disaster! I kept getting tangled up since the outside string would come out longer than the inside. My first thought was that if it was this difficult to ply with a spindle, I would either not ply or try to work out a deal with one of the spinners who has a wheel. But first I did a search on the web and found this Website http://www.handspinning.com/lollipops/spininst.htm by Carol Cassidy-Fayer. It was very interesting. I had looked at this one before when I was first learning to spin. Anyway, I followed her suggestion about putting 2 balls of spun yarn in coffee cups and threading the end through the handle and up to the spindle. I had to have Vicki help me finesse my technique a bit, but it worked out great. In this photo, you can just barely see the 2 coffee mugs in the upper left corner.

And here is some of my finished product. I have a 2 more balls to spin. If my calculations are right, I have 84 yards in the first hank. Definitely not enough for a pair of socks, but I might get a anorexic scarf out of it.

Can't wait to get the rest of it done. Then I have to set the twist. I will post finished photos when I get them, I was just so excited I had to post these now. Oh by the way, this was 100% Targhee dyed by Liz Mathews, The Chocolate Princess.

My Monkey Socks are Done!!

Monkey Sock number 2 is done. I finished it while at lunch today. I have to graft the toe closed tonight and I have a few things to make, so I should have them ready to ship by next Monday. Yeah! This has been a lot of fun. Hopefully the next one doesn't start until after the holidays because I need to do some Christmas knitting. I will take pictures before I ship, I promise.

Ravelry!

I got my invite to Ravelry on Saturday. I didn't actually get signed in until Sunday though. What was funny about it was that I was at our Fiber Frolic meeting and a bunch of us were discussing who was on and when the others would be getting our invites. I have been playing with it a little and it is really neat so far. I found 4 of my Frog Pond friends on line and 1 found me (I didn't even know she was there).

Oh The Fiber Frolic was a blast. I took a few pictures and will upload them tonight. If I counted right, there was about 16 of us. 17 if you counted the Susan's 'soon to be born' grandchild. :o) Susan's new house was very lovely and I can't wait until next year to see the pond/fountains that her son is working on for her. They sound great. We have LOTS of yummy food; Turkey Sloppy Joes, Thumbprint Cookies, Veggies Tray, Apple Crisp, Applesauce Jello, Apple Cider, Chips/Salsa, Bruchetta/Dip, Pepper Cream Cheese Dip with Wheat Thins, Brownies, Lemon Squares, Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I'm sure there's some items that I am forgetting, but they were all very tastey. And I nibbled all day!

I always get a nice glow when I bring something and someone asks for the recipe. I brought the Applesauce Jello. It is so easy to make and it tastes so refreshing. Here is the recipe for everyone else too.

1 large box of Raspberry Jello (or 2 small)
2 cups boiling water
1 23-25 oz jar of Applesauce (I prefer the no-sugar added one)

Disolve the jello in the boiling water. Add the Jello to the applesauce. Mix and refrigerate overnight. Notes: If I add the applesauce to the jello, I tend to splash alot. It takes longer to set-up with the applesauce in it.

Enjoy!!

Good Thoughts

After I posted the Doctor's visit information, I decided that all sounded too negative. So here are some brighter things to think about.

1. Went to Bella Vita and visited with a bunch of knitting friends last night. Aubrey, Elizabeth, Natsuran, Kristine, Jessica, Mary, Susan, Sarah and Sarah's Mom. We had a good time and I got some more of my Monkey Sock done.

2. This Saturday is the Frog Pond bi-monthly get together. We get to see Susan's new house and visit. There will be lots of spinning, knitting, visiting, and eating going on.

3. Next week I have the 12th off as a vacation day and I don't have to work on the basement!! Several of my Frog Pond friends and I will be traveling to Allegan, MI to visit Pufpaff's Fiber Mill. Liz, Jessica, Vicki, Chris, and Me.

4. Quilt Retreat is coming up on Oct. 19-21. I get to visit will all of the Tuesday Night Crazy Quilters from around Hartford, MI. I am taking Landon's toddler quilt with me and IT MUST BE COMPLETED. No more slacking! The weather is getting cool at night and he will need it on his bed.

So there, good thoughts and a very busy month.

Doctors Visits - Yuck

I don't know anyone who likes Doctors Visits. I went today to get my blood work checked out. Hadn't had it done since late 2005 I think. I have been having a problem with low iron since 2005. That's why I had the blood work done in 2005. Every time I went to donate blood, I would be turned away because my iron was low; between 35% to 37%. It has to be at least 38% to donate. When I look back over my donation card, on the times when I was able to donate, my iron was only 38% or 39%. Well in 2005, the Dr's office said "yeah it's low, but it's within range". This year, the last time I was able to donate was in April. During July I got the "too Low" rejection again. So they give you a list of food that is known to raise your iron level and also suggested I take an iron supplement. Still didn't work though. I went in 3 times and the highest I could get it was 37%. Last night I thought I would give it another try. Well they didn't even get around to checking my iron, because they said my blood pressure was 135 over 104; Too High. So I went to the Doctor today to have them check my blood pressure and do blood work to see where I stand. Last year my Doctor moved into a NEW facility. Boy is it nice! There are multiple TV's in the waiting room; one on the cartoon network and one on TBS and one on the news. They even had TV's in the examining rooms! I guess that's so if you are engrossed in watching TV, you won't notice how long it takes the Dr. to get to you. Although honestly I only had to wait 15-20 minutes, which I didn't think was too hellicious. I can remember waiting twice that long at his old office. Anyway, my blood pressure is fine; 135 over 74. I had mentioned that I thought the cuff the blood bank was using was too small and the nurse said that can give you a "bad" reading. Next time I should ask them them put it on my forearm. I have to wait until next week for the results to come back. In the mean time I was given a B12 shot (in the butt) to help with the iron, my flu shot and a tetanus shot since I hadn't had one since 1997.

This was my 2nd Doctor's visit this week. I had to go to the Eye Doctor on Monday. I had a flair up of Optic Neuritis. The short explanation for that is the Optic Nerve swells and causes flashing lights in your eye. I started getting this in 1996 or 97. They come and go. The only problem is that even though I have a diagnosis, it is one of those things that happen that the medical world does not know the cause of. Therefore they don't know how to cure it. The first couple of years that I had it, I went back to the Dr. every time it came back. However, that got expensive as I would need to have either a steroid treatment or another MRI only to be told "No Change". After that I just toughed it out. It was always just at the top of my peripheral vision on my left eye. It never was much of a problem. I was one of the 7.8% of people who didn't experience pain with it. Yeah me! But this time I had not just one flashing light, but three. Two on the edge and one almost in the center of my left eye. They are there all the time, just flickering and annoying the hell out of me. Then on Sunday I had the added bonus of getting a larger, brighter white flash that comes and goes. Still no pain though, which is wonderful. Well with all the added spots, I decided a trip to the Doctor would probably be a good thing. Diagnosis: "No Change". No bleeding and no new scars inside the eye, retina looks fine. Call back if things get worse or if it doesn't go away in a month. Then I might have to have another MRI or steroid treatment.

Let's Play Weekend Catch-up

This weekend was a good one. I got lots accomplished. More than I thought I would.

I took Friday off from work to work on the basement again. My Dad, Homer (my friends Dad) and I got the first layer of drywall mud on the walls. It's looking good. I just have some sanding to do before we can put up the next layer. Once Homer left, Dad and I went to work diagnosing the Lawn mower. We discovered that is was NOT a problem with starter, but instead a problem with the ignition switch. Yeah it was a $13 repair.

Of course then I had to actually mow the lawn. My Dad had brought over his self-propelled mulching mower for me to use in case we couldn't get mine fixed right away. Since the grass was so long and I knew my lawn would look like a fresh mown hayfield if I used my mower, I decided to give the mulching mower a shot. NEVER again will I complain about my riding lawn mower. I always thought since I lived in town and my yard wasn't that big, even though it is bigger than most of the yards surrounding me, that I didn't need a riding lawn mower. I even mentioned this spring to my Dad about selling the rider and getting a self-propelled. Well, like I said I will NEVER complain about the rider again. Let's compare the facts:

Rider = 45 minutes cutting time while sitting on my butt with a 42 in cutting area
Self-propelled = 2 hours cutting time, walking behind that damn thing with a 21 cutting area

You do the math!! The reason I have the rider, is because I have a bum ankle from a auto accident. I thought the self-propelled would be good exercise. And honestly it probably would be, but my ankle hurt so bad that night all I did was sit on the couch with the foot propped on a pillow covered by an ice pack. The next time Dad comes over, he is welcome to take that #@!$#@ mower home with him.

On Saturday, I went with to The Potawatomi Zoo with my BF McKelle and her kids Brenna-5 and Landon-2. Yeah I know more walking, but since we walked slowly in deference to Landon, it wasn't so bad. At least that's why I'm claiming we walked slow. :o) Visiting the zoo is much funner when you have kids with you than when McKelle and I went by ourselves (pre-kid years). We saw the animals, fed the ducks, ate lots of popcorn (which I don't normally like, but tasted Oh so good) and even rode the little train around. It was a good day.

I took my Mom and Dad out to eat on Saturday night to Papa Vinos. I had a coupon for a free appetizer that was due to expire on Sunday and we Love their Calimari. And on Sunday, even though I worked, I got lots of knitting done on Monkey Sock #2. I have 1 more decrease row for the gusset and I am hoping to get it done this weekend. Also, I am waiting for my Cookie A pattern to arrive.