If you

Do this:

And go here.

You could have this while sitting outdoors:

And you would see part of this mountain, right in front of you. You wouldn't even have to crane your neck or sit up tall or.. move:

And I think you would agree that life is better when you get off the couch.

Arse 1000

Ok, it's actually the ARS 1000, but who am I to spoil a good joke.

That's the name of the seat on my brand new bike.

After hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of kilometers logged on my hyrid (including that effityeffpigdog 28km mountain at the end of day one of the Ride to Conquer Cancer), I felt that I had earned a road bike. The issue was finding one that fit a person with my lack of altitude. I was really, really wishing for a Giant Defy Advanced 3 (2?, 1?), but there were no x-smalls to be found and no date when I might be expect one to arrive. I tried a Cannondale Synapse, and a Cervelo S1. The problem there was the customer service at Bow Cycle. I know they're busy, but damn... their expectation was that I pay them for a bike that was uncomfortable to ride, and then they would make the changes that they felt would make the bike fit me. I was told that their techs didn't have the time to waste 5 hours making changes to a bike I hadn't purchased just so that it would fit me. Alright Bow Cycle.... see ya. Then I went to Calgary Cycle, and in three visits, I was able to get someone to acknowledge me once, and he was just too busy to help me (that's fair.. it happens). Then there was Cyclepath. I didn't bother going because IK and Mr. IK tried to buy a road and a mountain bike, but weren't able to get acknowledged by the staff. (Their money went to Bike Bros., who have absolutely fantastic customer service)

Meanwhile, I was losing sleep over the issue. I'll bet you're thinking that I'm just a tiny bit crazy overall; cuz really.. wasn't there a cruiser hanging from the living room wall? A TREK mountain bike in the shed? And, don't forget Mildred (she's my favorite; I must admit it). And don't I have a perfectly good Cannondale Quick Fem 4?

So here's the thing. August is really tough for me. I go some shade of crazy every August as I try to get through the anniversary of my son's death. Each and every year I am focused on something, trying to dampen the pain, and this year was entitled THE YEAR I HAD TO HAVE A NEW ROAD BIKE. (or I might die)

Finally, finally.. I walked into Speed Theory and there it was. A 2010 Argon18 Krypton in white, black and red. Full carbon. Light. Fast. From a Canadian company. Extra Small.

(And Bow Cycle? The guy at Speed Theory did make the changes he thought would be necessary. He watched me ride. He made adjustments. He spent some time with me. In exchange I gave him a lot of money)

I can't afford to pay attention, but I have my bike. And yes, it did help. She helped me climb the 2010 anniversary of losing my beloved HC. That's worth something.

YO, universe!

BFML reminded me there's a compressor in the basement... So Mildred the Voyageur's back tire is fully inflated. However, at this particular moment in time I cannot locate my newly tiara'ed helmet.

Just as well I would imagine.

(we had a wonderful ride together to the locksmith's, where i acquired new truck & house keys. everything went well and mildred and i are one with each other. you will note in the picture that there is a mr. potato head on the steps as well as a pooper scooper. chez R, ever so elegant)

The Year of Estonian/Orenburg lace is turning into...

The year of the sock. The year of fundraising. The year of cycling. The year of knitting socks to fundraise for cycling.

In happy news, there is SOME progress on the lace front. I was able to find a copy of Galina's book from Shuttleworks, and so around the time of the Olympics I spent many, many hours working on the Eastern Star shawl. I think i have 5" or so completed (scoff if you may, that's one crapload of knitting we're talking about there); and tragically I dropped a stitch that ran allllll the way back to where the lace joins the shawl. On that note, the whole project went into the time out basket, and it resides there still.

OK, so I bought an Orenburg shawl from Galina. I admit it. It's fabulous and I love it, and I just saved myself a year of knitting. (It's everything I dreamed it would be and more)

My Estonian shawl (the Miralda) is almost complete, but I ran out of handspun just inches before the cast off. Not a huge problem (thank God), Correna had 4oz. of Bison that she bought from the same vendor as I had, so I have been spinning that to finish the shawl with. I thought I'd DO THE RIGHT THING (cuz I love her) and spin the whole 4oz and return her down in the form of yarn. So.. I need some extra time with that.


(an old picture.. it's almost done now)

As far as lace goes, I did knit Amy's new bolero pattern 'Watershed', and it's quite lovely. I chose the wrong yarn for the project, and the garment doesn't drape the way it ought to. My fault entirely.



Ohhhhh, and socks. I've been contract knitting them left, right and centre. Also, Martha donated a whole basket full that she'd knitted, so a bunch of the money I raised for the Ride to Conquer Cancer happened on account of socks. Currently I'm knitting a pair of yellow ones that I can wear during the ride. At least I hope so, they're DK weight, and maybe a little thick for the job. We'll see. I also have a pair of Casbah socks in blue on the needles, and finished a pair of Silk Garden 211 socks for Donna's birthday.

They're everywhere, they're everywhere.

What else? Hmmmmm... I knitted a Wool Leaves for a shop display. It's kinda cool, and will make a nice lap blanket when I bring it home.



Oh! Over a weekend retreat I knitted a version of Kourtney's "Mistaken" shawl. I absolutely adore it! You can knit it for yourself by downloading her free Ravelry pattern. (I actually knit the green one shown, but the picture is Kourtney's)



Lots of other stuff happening at the moment. My mom is having surgery on June 1 for breast cancer, so I'm going to fly to Victoria for 2 days. Nini turns 3 on June 4th. I have the MS Ride on June 12/13, the Ride for Dad on June 19th and the Ride to Conquer Cancer on June 26/27. It isn't even June yet, and somehow it seems like the summer is half over. To my utter shock, I barely have any more time to train for the rides. Damned blizzards.

The puppy turned one! He's so amazing, and cute, and funny, and sweet, and talented, and did I say funny?



Speaking of SHOCK, it would appear that I'm not going to have anything suitable completed to put into Stampede. I love a rosette, I have to say.

This has not been the year of taking good photographs, so I'll post this as is, and hope that I can fill it in with images at a later time instead of just.not.blogging.cuz.i.have.no.pictures.

FTU = AOTK

Once upon a time, about 6 years ago, I rode Mug's new bike home from school for her. I didn't realize that the brakes might need to be adjusted; when I barely touched them, I did a spectacular endo directly in front of two people I knew well. I swear, that was the worst part. Well, that and my elbow. I took off a major hunk of it, and I must say.. healing up a body part that is constantly bending is not a fast or easy proposition.

So this brings us to this very day. Spring fever abounds, and there were absolutely loads of people out riding today. I was really excited because after picking up some shoes from MEC, we went to see the Bike Bros in Cochrane to retrieve my Cannondale. I wanted to upgrade my bike somewhat, and had new grips installed, switched to a clipless pedal system and also switched tires from commuter to slicks. Graham told me that the tire switch lightened the bike by 2 (rotational) lbs. After we got home I put the bike up on the fluid trainer and practiced clipping and unclipping my shoes to the bike.



Goes like this (on the trainer): Pedal. See imaginary stop sign. Unclip right foot. Apply brakes. Slightly steer towards right foot and lower unclipped foot to the ground. Raise left, clipped foot somewhat. Step down with same foot, creating motion; meanwhile clip right foot.

I had read quite a few clipless pedal threads on Team Estrogen, and asked my friend Jen for her input and suggestions. It was difficult and frustrating at first, but after a while things improved. I decided to take my show on the road.

Would have been really excellent if my natural motion was to step down with the right foot when I stop. Turns out that I'm a left foot stopper.



Same elbow. Matching knee. That's my bike seat you see above... I didn't love it in the first place, so no biggie. No broken bones, just some missing skin, lots of aches and pains and a butt shiner. I learned something important:

Failure to unclip = Ass over tea kettle.

I'd talk about knitting, but everything I knitted on the Orenburg today needs to be frogged because I somehow missed a rest row, so I'm zigging when I should be zagging.

Failure to purl =

Well, you know.

Seriously, I am

Riding, that is.

I was so so so so happy the other night when I came home because the mountain bike doesn't have a fender, and I was mud from here to there. I felt all.. well, hard core.

The feeling was completely null and void as I took the train to work the next day because I heard there was a skim of ice on the roads. I am telling myself that a measley 40 minutes of walking (all tolled) is better than driving.

In other news... I seem to have lost my signature arts dpns, which were last seen in a bag with 1.5 Hand Maiden, hand dyed, hand knitted socks. For charity, no less. I know they were in my bike pack, and after that, I have no idea. They'll show up, I'm quite sure.

The Miralda is in time out because I don't have the nerve to frog her yet. I might ask Aunty Tink to do that, because she's good that way. The last time I asked her to help me with lace she resorted to drink, and the shawl actually whupped her. The first one ever, if I remember correctly.

I don't know how I have the nerve (because I have about 10 things on needles that I can name off the top of my head), but I cast on a cute little sweater tonight that I plan to be wearing by next Wednesday. Me and Aunty Tink think we're going to get ours done before Munchie, purely due to the size of our girls compared to her girls. I didn't get much done tonight, but I believe I will be wearing that sweater on Wednesday...

It's good to be goal oriented.

I'm back.

This morning when I woke up the news lady said that it was plus 5 degrees outside. Now that, my friend, is biking weather. I got a used mountain bike off of craigslist, and it has big knobby tires and, well.. it weighs about 6 thousand pounds (OK, maybe not exactly that much). I figured it could keep it on the road on ice, snow and slush.

Mostly, I was correct.

The bike path was really excellent for a while, and I thought to myself that I could have easily ridden my road bike. In time though, the path was covered in packed snow, and I was busy congratulating myself on my excellent choice of vehicles.

That was before the slush.

Excuse me, but CRAP that's a tough slog... At some points I was trying to make it through up to 4" of slush and ice and frozen tracks. Next time I'm taking myself back to HOME ROAD and, traffic or not, it has to be better than what I rode through today. We'll see.

The good part? I saw geese, I smelled the river (most of it is still open) and trees and one person's breakfast joint. I breathed fresh air, and although I'm not in as good condition as I was 2 months ago (we'll call that PRE-HINIE), I got that 6 gazillion lb. bike up hill and dale, and I arrived at work without falling.

Win.

In other win-ish news, I spent a few nights over the weekend working on the Miralda triangular shawl. I'm mid-way through the diamond charts (which means I have knit 6 quadrillion nupps). The yarn is Bison, handspun on Donna's Rose and is absolutely perfect for the project. Gosh it's soft.. and beautiful. This is the year of Estonian/Orenburg lace, afterall, and it's about time I got serious about it.

Last week I finshed spinning the Qivuit and I have about a thousand yards (I estimate). My plan is to knit an Orenburg shawl (ie: no nupps), and I have what I think is the perfect pattern. We'll see...

I've been juggling Fleece Artist merino socks with fingerless gloves for Jim... there's all kinds of knitting going on these days.

My 1st anniversary with TKR was Jan 5th; gosh time flies.

Life is productive.

The do nothing weekend

Fail.

Instead we discovered that Banana's 13th birthday party wasn't next Saturday, it was THIS Saturday, at the very same time that BFML was scheduled to be at a hockey game with BGA, and a fund raising bingo directly afterwards. Did I mention that the Banana had invited approximately 10 girls? After a great deal of house cleaning and schedule shuffling we indeed held a birthday sleepover, serving gourmet hot dogs with home made chili, and numerous other toppings; strawberry cheesecake to follow. There were movies, there was much loudness, there was very little sleep.

Simultaneously all three dogs came down with something horrendous. Rox very nearly ended up at the emergency vet clinic, but by 5am she stabilized. Chicken broth and rice for the bunch of them today. We're reconsidering raw feeding in general. I don't believe her constitution can handle any surprises. Could it have been an extreme case of stress? That many teenage girls can be the last straw for a human, let alone a skittish dog.

Somehow, in the middle of that, I spun a good portion of the shetland that I washed, and Correna and I picked and carded. It's a nice light grey to charcoal... kind of an uneven lace weight, as the fiber was peppered with second cuts. I tell ya.. a little bit goes a long way (by the way, this isn't one of Tracy's shetlands).

I've been knitting on a little red hat that I found in Piecework. I like it, tho I suspect it's about 10 sizes too big. I'm also working on a Cowichan sweater and hat set. It's the first and the last that I'll ever knit... just not my bag. The sleeves are left to do, and.. well, 6 million ends need to be dealt with.

We did a little Christmas shopping; I'm pretty well done with Mug, Dida and Katerina. Otherwise I'm making progress.

The dogs are fighting... that's a good sign.

Think the back roads and pathways are clear enough for a bike ride tomorrow? We'll see.

This is a list

I'm going to be sad when I have to start riding in the light again. BFML bought me a new headlight, and it rocks the free world. I can see so clearly... I could actually read a discarded chocolate bar wrapper on the pathway. I could see what was a hole, and what was a bump, what was a rock and what was a leaf. I could see a ninja well before I was near her (her.. I knew it was a woman). She was walking away from me.

I have a new route, and it's calm; peaceful. I have more lights, everywhere. My Dollybird gave me wind pants, and fleece pants to go under them. She also gave me a wicking shirt, all of which I wore today. I was warm.

My new route gently runs downhill, so I get to cruise for approximately 15 blocks.

I stopped listening to my iPod, because it messes up the quiet.

I smell... leaves burning. Chicken dinners. A joint. The river. Coffee.

I see... the river in darkness, smoother and satiny. The interior of houses at dinner time. A dog with a florescent collar. The park, in pitch dark.

There are... no more skateboarders. Hardly any pedestrians. No black dogs on long leashes. No more rollerbladers. Not many cyclists. I'm almost never passed. I almost never have to pass.

There was no wind on the way home. Not even a breeze.

I thought the night was going to be my worst case scenario. With a little planning and a few changes, it turned into something really special... like that one rainy day that I rode through. Such a pleasant surprise.

Today a number of miracles happened to me.

Rose and Correna helped me at the shop. I was buried alive in yarn that had arrived, I needed to prepare/execute three orders, and the store was jam packed. With their help almost everything was handled.

I saw JSmoothie and Fiona. That was such an unexpected pleasure. Fiona isn't a toddler any more, that's for sure.

There's a middle miracle that isn't my story - so I'm dispensing with details. A friend, Leanne, became an answer to prayer.. she came with information, contacts and support. I don't have words to address how much it meant to me, and how much I needed her today.

When I got home today, BFML met me at the door to let me know that Genetics had called. I've been approved for genetic research regarding Long QT Syndrome. My DNA leaves for Italy this week. We'll hear something in 6 months to a year; to me that sounds fast, I've been waiting 7 years so far.

Sweet Jennifer donated to my Ride to Conquer Cancer fund.

And I safely road home in the dark.

There was lasagna.

There was knitting.

In the dark

Knitters, I apologize in advance. Stay tuned for a forthcoming knitting related post.


These last few days I've been getting back on the bike after a round of flu. My strength is sapped and my time/speed sucks, but I'm moving again. However, things have changed.

What I have loved during this spring/summer of cycling has been experiencing the seasons again. Spring was so lovely, with ducklings wandering across the path, leaves budding... I could smell green grass and moving water. As summer approached there was a new thing to revel in every day, though some parts were infuriating (three times large black dogs nearly removed chunks of me), others kept me motivated day after day (the cyclist who, as he passed me, said: good pace. I was a new commuter then, struggling along with my heavy cruiser).

Suddenly it was fall. There was a morning where, deep into thought, I suddenly snapped into the moment and was completely disoriented. Leaves had fallen, and in that second I couldn't recognize my surroundings. It was the strangest feeling, and I was almost afraid for a second or two. Everything was different.. instead of smelling sweet green things, now the scent of dry leaves and smoke became common.

The time changed, and I realized that I had to rethink the whole commute. Parts of me are now too cold, so I knitted a helmet liner that would cover my chin, neck and upper chest. My tights are no longer sufficient, so I tried riding in jeans (fail), and now I'm considering some kind of wind pant to put over the tights. I have the right jacket, the right gloves; I've changed from riding in sneakers to wearing ankle boots.

It's dark. Doesn't sound like much, but I'm telling you, riding in the dark is a whole new ball of wax, a completely new skill set (which I currently don't possess).

HOME ROAD became impossible [for me] to [safely] navigate downhill... The first dark evening nearly scared me to death as I flew down the hill unable to clearly see the pavement, cars whizzing by my left elbow - stupid driver trying to rush out of a driveway before I crashed into the side of his car. Never again will I repeat that, so over the last few days I've been trying new routes. Last night I hit pay dirt, and found a combination of side-streets that were quiet, lit and.. all gently downhill. It was amazing. I coasted approximately 15 blocks before I had to put my foot to the peddle. After dozens of rides in raging winds, dozens more slogging up HOME ROAD, I feel like I've earned that free-ride. Problem solved.

Lighting also became an issue that isn't completely solved. I had purchased a really sweet headlight and thought that it was all I needed. Grossly incorrect. It really is quite effective at letting me be seen by those approaching, but that's about all it does well. I couldn't be seen from the side or from the rear, and more importantly I couldn't see where I was going. Curves suddenly appeared. Ninjas on the path (unlit walkers & runners wearing black clothing.. can't see them until the last moment, and it's difficult to perceive if they are approaching or retreating).. leaves or rocks? Potholes or raised pavement?

After a great deal of research and a trip to MEC I decided that I was going to 'go circus'. Now only a blind person could miss me. I currently have the same headlight, but BFML ordered me a serious replacement (I noticed last night that approximately 3 out of 4 riders have replaced their headlight with something much brighter). I have a flashing red light on the back of my bike, and another on my backpack. We installed some sparkling wheel lights that make me visible from the side, and also.. well, make me happy. It's like Christmas tree lights on my bike. I have a flashing white light on my helmet to top things off. I kind of love that one because it makes street signs light up/flash. My jacket, helmet and ankles are plastered with reflectors. All circus, all the time.

So, there I was, last night.. riding along the pathway through Shouldice park when I noticed that the tops of trees had lights skimming along them, to and fro. It struck me that I had a bicycle behind me on the path, and that the rider had a helmet lamp.

The rider never passed me.

I.Win.

Did you ever read Ayn Rand?

I did, and apparently now reading her is super cool, because she's back in. ahem.

If you haven't, you ought to..

I need to ask you why (why Lord, why?) haven't I ever tried Estonian lace before? I'm crazy in love with the project so far; tho I'm currently in a spot that could create severe catastrophic boneheaded aunty tink-sized fixoramas. Or not. The handspun Bison is just exactly right. Unless someone offers me the moon for it (to put towards my ride), I might just keep this one.



At the same time I'm knitting some socks for a TKR customer in support of my 2010 ride to conquer cancer. I'm 1/2 way done the second sock, which hasn't been such a big problem, since the recipient has size two feet. This totally and absolutely is restitution for the size 9 somethings that I had to knit for sock wars. Universe? We're even now. I acknowledge that.

Today I was going to ride my bike, but I couldn't locate my helmet (in the truck after the huge windstorm rescue). Friday for sure.

Also, today I met a new little person, named the lovely Miss E. If my ovaries weren't petrified, I think they'd be twinging.. gosh, she is beautiful in every way. Congratulations to her family (including me, a self appointed great-auntie).

I saw Judi Blue Eyes at the store, and I just can't put my joy into words; I missed her very much.. Also, Nancy L came in and had a visit. She didn't know that I am at the Knitting Room these days, so it was a nice re-connection.

Knitting? The Miralda, the second Camelot, many socks, and two secret Christmas type things. Soon? Another tea cosy for the KAL... and ok, a 'pretty thing' cowl or two.

Spinning? I'm going to card punis and actually try to spin Qivuit on Donna's wheel. I think that after spinning all that Bison, that I might have a handle on it. We'll see.

Now? So going to bed. Sleep well, all.

I'm knitting Estonian lace...

with my own handspun bison. I think I might be short, but Opera is going to share her stash so that I get the shawl finished.

There was a point in my life when I thought that Estonia was the end of everything good (don't ask.. it's a long, boring story), and here I am, with a warm, beautiful shawl in my lap and I'm all.. yayyyy Estonia.

Camera battery is dead, but what I've accomplished deserves a good photo. Perhaps the shop will share some good light tomorrow and I'll have something to post.

It's warmed up, and I think I'll be able to ride tomorrow.

And.. here's my Mugwump. Posted because she's so beautiful.

A trip to the Children's Hospital

For me!

At long last it looks like the Long QT Syndrome genetic testing will begin in earnest. We met with the geneticists at the hospital yesterday and my blood is now on its way to having DNA extracted. All that is left to do is wait... first on financial approval from the hospital (which is fairly sure), and then probably 6 to 12 months more, while the people in Italy study our files and my blood. They tell us that if there is a gene issue that there's a 70% chance that they can identify that... well, that's a 70% better chance than we've ever had. My hope is that before Nini is a teenager, they'll be able to draw her blood and rule out LQT on the spot. Dida has never had symptoms, but that doesn't rule her out as a carrier.

As as an update... it didn't take the universe long to whack me in the head about the wind comment. Yesterday's ride home was near impossible; the wind was so fierce. As I was coming down HOME ROAD it was a direct headwind that slowed the bike down to a crawl.. without brakes I was just creeping down. The ride along the river was against a crosswind that wanted to push the bike over; trees were whipping around me and generally it was an hour of a special kind of hell.

Barely even knit last night. By 9:30 I was in bed.

Sometimes a person should just shut the heck up.

Dear HOME ROAD

Dear friggen unrelenting, summer-long headwind/crosswind:

Thank you. You made me strong and able. I'm sorry to have dissed you so bad all summer long, when in reality you were the greatest free training program available.

Bring it on (oh, please don't make me regret this).

Regards,
Annie

ps: I'm knitting Casbah socks to raise money for my Ride to Conquer Cancer. One pair is almost finished, and I have an order for a second. Nice, nice socks, I must say. I was knitting on the second sock on Saturday night, at Roller Derby, when a strapping young woman came flying into our faces and in fact, pasted Mug to the bleachers. Everyone lived through it, but it was scary for a while. Besides that? Super.Fun. Don't miss Roller Derby if you have a chance.

And totally unrelated:



Natalie Dee rocks. Plain and simple. You should buy her stuff.

Take that, Home Road

I beat it.

Kinda... I blew a shift and that stopped me dead in my tracks. But instead of walking the rest of the way up, I got back on the bike, and I rode to the top.

YYYYYaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy. Home Road? You don't get all caps any more.

Me and the BF have really been enjoying the Tour de France, and I was sad to see it end last night. During the tour, I knitted a lot on the Glow gloves; the first one is close to needing fingers. I also spun a couple hundred grams of BFL and Merino/Silk.. and I cast on for the Girasole. I'm about 1/2 way through Chart C, and it's looking good.

Did I mention that I whupped Home Road? Big.Silly.Grin.

tell me...

Do you have any idea why I have more energy in the afternoon than I do in the morning? I cannot figure it out. I eat my breakfast, I am hydrated, but I cannot get up that hill at 9am. However, at 2:00.. tired and hot-hot-hot, it seemed like it was within reach.

How does this work?

The only thing I could think of was that it might be my BP meds.. so I switched to taking them at night. No difference.


Frustrating. So here's an awwwwwww for us all.



My Glow gloves are coming along nicely; I am just starting the second chart. Also, I've been spinning quite a bit, and finished 100 grams of Fleece Artist Wool/Silk. It's a very manly colourway, so I'm thinking it might be socks for the BF.

Tonight I flick carded and spun a little bit of Shetland that we got while we were at Olds. One lock went so far that I'm currently in fear regarding spinning a whole fleece. I want to knit some Orenburg this year, and I'd love to do it with my own handspun. We'll see.

BFML comes home tomorrow. I'm glad.

A little video of Patches

He's so cute, he doesn't need supportive text.



My command of the English language is poor.

Oh.. a quick mention of cycling. After a two week rest, I thought I'd be in deep trouble today if I rode. In the morning BFML, Mug and I went to Bow Cycle to have my bike adjusted, and he noticed that my tires were under pressure... said that it should make the bike more efficient when the pressure was correct.

Didn't make ME more efficient; I forgot my gloves and my helmet (huh? how dumb is that?).

Anyway, just a note to say that I made some progress on HOME ROAD. I got another 1/2 block further.. I'm soooooo close to the top of the hill now. I really believe I'm going to make it, even if making it is thanks to a lighter bike, more inflated tires...

Dear Lori:

Did So.

a
xoxox


Now, as a quick update, I reached 52nd St. this morning as I climbed HOME ROAD. It wasn't much of an improvement, but it was a few yards further than my previous benchmark. Now that I have a super fabulous Cannondale Quick Fem 4 (apparently I am SHORT. The bike is a custom woman's frame, and mine is Petite). I'll be going to Bow Cycle tomorrow between soccer games to pick up my new bike (complete with a bell, a water bottle holder, and rack).

Now, I have been doing some non bike related stuff. I've been knitting a no-purl version of the Monkey Sock in STR for the Guild sock exchange in July. One down, one to go. Also I've been having some fun spinning on a new Jenkins Spalted Tamarind Turkish Delight. It's an amazing little thing that spins and spins and spins.

I have to say, that if you are considering a Jenkins spindle, get ready for a lovely experience. I had randomly written many months ago, merely wondering about a spalted spindle. Wanda Jenkins had kept my request on file until one came up, and then wrote to me giving me first dibs on it. When the spindle arrived it was wrapped in tissue, a silk hankie, more tissue and some combed romney. There was a beautiful hand-written note in the package. The whole package was in a bubble wrap bag, and then in a padded envelope. I think the Jenkins' care about every aspect of their business, and customer service is job one. I've been spinning some pink and some blue silk hankies, and having a real ball doing so.

If one could spin and bike ride at once, the world would be a happy place.

PS: I'm registered for Stampede. A shawl and some handspun; pictures to follow.

Full of fail

Today I bought a Schwinn No-Stress bike seat, and a rat trap kind of thing that is suspended off the seat post. Both products were a complete and utter fail. After one hours' trial, both are back in the shopping bag, ready for a refund.

The good news is that the test ride took me to Kensington where I met all kinds of my favorite knitters, including Mrs. Tiano. We had fun, and were probably much quieter than the restaurant had any right to expect. We pretended it was Sandra's birthday, and they gave her deep fried ice cream.

Life is good.

Swatching

Tonight I am feeling still within myself, in response to a very stressful and long day. I fell onto the couch when I came home, and slept. Today is over; I've dreaded it for days and days, and finally it's done.

Just now I wound a skein of Cormo into a ball, and I'm swatching it on the red 4.5mm Stiletto Signature Needle Arts needles. I thought that the Cormo might turn into a Dianna shawl, but maybe it'll be Hey Teach? We'll see how the swatch turns out.

I want to tell you about Friday. It was time to ride home, and I was watching the sky close in and become black. I could hear thunder... and suddenly there were huge splashing raindrops. The option was to leave my bike at work and take the train home, then pick up the bike again when I next drove the truck. Instead, I strapped on the helmet and hit the road. It was the best decision I've made in ages.

Instead of bugs and lunging black dogs and all the other normal hazards of a ride home, it was cool, peaceful and beautiful. Yes, I was pretty wet, but I don't think I've ever felt better. The pathway smelled of leaves and rain and fresh cut grass. I'm not sure when you last felt like this, but honestly, it's priceless.