The high point of my day, and the funniest thing you'll read all week

Ok, the bike thing. I made it an extra 1/2 block up Home Road before I had to get off. So I'm officially riding to 21st Ave. When I got off I stood around looking ultra casual and took drinks from my water bottle. In reality I was waiting for my heart to stop acting like a Disney animation, and for the calves to unknot. But inside, I was celebrating! The next block is a lot longer, so I think my progress won't be as good as it has been so far. I am thinking of borrowing BFML's mountain bike to see how I do with more gears.

And I saw something horrific tonight. (I have big black dog syndrome... I'm not proud of it, but it's true).. It was like a slow motion dream sequence really... A young man and woman seemed to have crashed one or more of their bikes, and they were standing over two downed bikes which took up more than one lane of the bike path. She has a big black dog on a leash, but she's engaged in the bikes, not the dog. I was coming up to them, and a jogger was just coming around them (because they were taking up his entire lane). As he passed, the dog lunged at the jogger. As I passed him, I saw him lift his arm, which had been bitten and was bleeding. If it wasn't for him, it would have been me. Phew.. jogger, thank you for taking one for me.

Now, the funny.

I caught a whiff of smoke... the tiniest smell, and I asked BGA to check to see if anything was in the oven? Nope he says, nothing. Nothing but the mouse.

Excuse me, what?

We have two teenage girls and a 10 y/o boy in this house, and the pandemonium that ensued was very, very, very funny. There is some concern about mouse fumes on Sunday night's roasted chicken, or last night's home made mac and cheese. Poor little beast. I don't think it had a particularly nice ending. Question is, how did it get in there?

I admit it, I'm a stalker

I've been crazy in love with Cormo for more than a year, and had myself the sweetest little hogget fleece (#750 to be exact) that I was sllllllowly (and I cannot stress that enough) flicking and spinning. I'd scoured it imperfectly, so the locks weren't intact, but it was still coming along well. Recently VikingMaid made me some combs, so man.. did the pace pick up. I combed the rest of the fleece, and it is now spun, plied and wet finished. It's dry even.. just hanging on my baker's rack in the kitchen. I have 5 matching skeins, and I have a couple of ideas, but right now all I want to do is squeeze it now and again.

(There will be no discussions relating to unmatched skeins, and I would appreciate that mathematically ept readers do not try to estimate the weight of discarded fiber. fyi: I have just invented 'ept', but there should be such a word to counter 'inept', don't you agree?)

Never in my life have I felt yarn so soft and bouncy. It defies description; honest.

The stalking thing started so innocently. I decided that I truly have too much fleece at the moment, and I need to deal with what I have on hand. That seems logical. Then I got the combs (speeding things up), and I got a Pat Green triple picker (hmmm.. so many ideas!), and, OK I admit it, my Visa card kindly bought me a Strauch Finest drumcarder (it's so thoughtful that way. I went into some kind of trance in the store, and before I knew it, the drumcarder was in the trunk. That would be the drumcarder that I cannot afford in any conceivable way, the drumcarder that I am actually quiet embarrassed about. THAT ONE)... phew.... where was I?

Yes,.. Eventually I thought.. gosh, wouldn't it be a nice thing to go look at the 2009 Cormo fleeces and see what all the lucky people are going to buy? And since I'm a 2008 customer, I'll have first dibs. Even tho.. you know.. I'm not going to buy one.

Strangely, no 2009's on the website. Not even one. I knew that everybody was shorn (you know these things when you read every word of someone's website 10 times, and have memorized the 'news' page), so maybe I just need to try another browser? Or.. you know, refresh 20 times a day? Just to look, you understand.

Seems natural that a person would just email Sue and see how things are, and you know, pass along all best wishes. While I'm writing, might as well ask about those fleeces, right?

Even though I'm not going to buy one. No way am I going to. For sure.

The Targello gets noticed at soccer

Mug had a game last night (they are unbeaten so far); and I was wearing my new Meret (which I love, love, love) and knitting on the pink Targello. It was pretty funny really, because the wind was blowing and it had become quite chilly, so there were comments about me knitting fast enough to create a blanket. One by one people started to collect; and we ended up with quite an inquisitive group. I might even end up with a couple new students out of the deal. One lady walked up and told me that she really liked my entrelac.. amazing. I was starting to feel a bit like a side show until that point. A good sideshow, if that makes any sense.

Today was the 7 deadly sins day.

Marilynnie came a knit for a while, as did Trish. Sherri came in and gave me a Kiva water bottle, and we had a visit. I heard from Heather via a Ravelry PM. Correna came in to pick up a book and we had a little visit as well. Then a surprise to beat all, Kathi drove up to the front of my house, and we quickly touched base before she drove off into the sunset. She's moving tomorrow, so it was very, very lucky that we ran into each other.

So that's it for the day. I put away a massive amount of Lanett. I ate a chicken sandwich and some sushi and some Vietnamese, though not at the same time. I talked to Sandra, which was possibly the most fun of all.

And now I'm going to spin more Bison. Score!

SockSummitSockSummitSockSummit

Maddie's in the bucket

Very, very sad. She came home from the Dominican to catch the crud. (and in no time flat, I might add).

Thought I'd tell you some stuff, and then stop going on and on about bike riding. One thing is that it takes (me) 1 hour and 15 to 20 minutes to get TO work. My biggest fear is to have heart failure on Home road, going uphill. It takes 50 minutes to get home. My biggest fear is to have heart failure on Home road, from brake failure going downhill. Also, it is next to terrifying riding home on the bike path. People are worse, more inconsiderate bike riders and roller bladers and joggers than they are drivers. I kid you not.

But it's better than driving, it really is. Today I saw ducklings, lots of the river, trains, trains and more trains, stores and shops I hadn't seen from the car, lots and lots of middle age bike riders and younger joggers. I know that the roots of trees totally mess up the bike path, and it's a wayyyy bumpy ride; I also know that if you tighten up your stomach muscles that your back doesn't hurt. I'm afraid of a storm on the way home, because I'm totally going to have to ride through it, like it or not. I know it won't kill me. I have ridden on the road for the first time in my life. (Home road again...) I've always been a sidewalk rider in the past.

I smelled lilacs today; several times. Also cut grass, broken tree limbs, a bbq, and possibly a far away skunk.

I made it .5 blocks further up Home road before I had to quit, but I passed a man who was just cresting the hill on his bike. I told him he was my hero (he laughed), but honestly he's my role model. I feel like I might make it one day. That's the goal.

This is really super good for me. My mom didn't drive a car, so I spent my entire childhood on the seat of a bike. It used to feel natural to me, and the bike was an extension of myself. I hope I feel like that again.

All I know is that right now it feels so flipping amazing to be at work on my own power that I could just jump for joy. I spent zero dollars on gas since last weekend, and I hope that I can keep it that way for the entire week.

Now, you thought that was boring.. Just wait. Me and IK are going to start training for climbing a rock wall. I AM SO GOING TO DO IT. Trust me.

In the meantime? I'm going to spin bison.

Sock Summit. (I just had to say that so I wouldn't be the only blogger in the world who didn't mention it)

Goodbye Lady B

Parting is such sweet sorrow.

It turns out that you weigh so much that you jammed my bike carrier into the front fender, and bent it. That was what all the squeeking was about. The bike was in pain, Lady B. I just can't have that.

So the most important stuff (for example, my mini electronic scale, my GPS, my camera, a smallish knitting project, a pen, my wallet, the alleve.. you know... the stuff I can't live without) is now in a smaller MEC bag that slings across my back. The carrier is for a water bottle, a shirt to change into, and a rain jacket.

I still love you like crazy Lady B. I adore everything about you, but you encourage me to carry too much stuff, and it just has to end for the warm weather. I'm going to keep you at home beside my chair, and the next time I'm going on a field trip.. well, I'm going to load you on up and take you on an excursion. When fall is over and I retire my bike, I'll exchange it for you.

Don't be too sad. It's only a matter of time.

(PS: I rode my bike today, and remembered to sit up straight and tighten my stomach muscles, and take drinks on the way.. so I made it an extra 1/2 block up Home Road before my heart rate quadrupled. Yayyyyy; victory!)

News Flash

I rode my bike to work. I nearly keeled over while pushing it up Home Road. Seriously.. I had to stop 3 times to catch my breath. My heart rate was about 3 million at the time.

I was thinking to myself; self, perhaps you aren't quite over the flu yet. Is it too late to turn back? (yes)

By the time we (the bike and me, that is) got here the bike was squeeking like a crazy thing, and I might have been worse off than the bike. But I feel good, and victorious, and successful.

Hear me roar.

Roaring like a woman who owns a Pat Green Picker. Yes that's me.

I must share Nancy Today with you.

I've been keeping her to myself for a while, but it's time to come clean.

She has over 100 YouTube videos, each one better than the last. I can't really pick a favorite, so I'll post a couple that are relevant to my interests. I think you could safety use these videos as instructions on how *not* to spin, and how *not* to card. However, use them as guidelines on how to live your life with joy and abandon.

I'll tell you what, Nancy knows how to make things work. Not well; but they WILL work. She doesn't seem to stop for instructions, she just dives on in.

I think that I'm on my way to being Nancy Today. I'd like to apologize in advance for all the trouble I'm going to cause you.



There are several other parts to the spinning video, but you really get her whole spinning technique in the first few seconds. I love how confidently she makes the wrong adjustment to the wheel over and over again, while saying that she doesn't have a clue what's she's doing. Evenutally she gives up on that and turns the wheel by hand (though she keeps treadling).. I have changed my mind; do try to watch spinning 2 and spinning 3.



Please note. If your vintage drumcarder sounds like this it means that you need to immediately adjust the drums. Nancy's carding teeth are intermeshing, which is never good. Her drumcarder is old and not too fine, but it would do a perfectly good job of carding if used correctly. However, for her use, she's coming up with exactly the product she needs to felt onto soap.

Try not to miss the one where she goes to the dump to get fleece. Or even the one where she felts the soap so well that there is actually no soap left. If you need a little marriage councelling, Nancy covers that as well, but not at the dump.