Christmas

Look whose hanging around the tree. It's Shelly her new BF Herman, a felted pig. Shelly is rather obvious on a blue tree. Herman, on the other hand, is an undercover pig.
Yes, another Christmas and the traditions are being carried on. Mugg-dolf replaced moi, Jan-doff, as the delivery system of the presents. Here she is in her new sweater...
which just happens to match the sweater I made for Alaska....
and then made a winter knitting bag from the same yarn. We are a matched set!
This is the good side of buying yarn by the bag......

BABY

This is Baby...our beautiful girl. We were at least her third home and she was with us almost five years. She just passed away of acute leukemia. She has left a hole in our hearts.

This is a life with us in pictures.

Here she and Muggs are first getting acquainted.

Soon they were my favorite Hellhounds.
Basking in the sun together. As much as they fought they were always together.
Is there anything cuter?
Disrupted from sleep by yet another photo opportunity.

It's the eyes....
In her favorite spot among the pillows on my bed.

Fresh after a bath at the groomers.

Baby is constantly being stalked by this woman with a camera!

This past September.
This is my last shot when she came home from the hospital last Saturday. We thought it was a bout of hepatitis at the time. She's wearing her red badge of courage. She never complained and loved us unconditionally.
Yes, our beautiful girl...Baby

? - 9 December 2009

First Snow!!

Having grown up in upstate New York in the "snow belt", I miss the snow...but none of the work. No, I don't miss waking an hour early so I can dig out my car. I don't miss the slipping or passing under a tree just when there is a puff of wind and snow falls down the back of my neck. And I certainly don't miss walking to school in -17F especially when the school has a dress code of dresses and skirts only. I blame the extra fat layer on my legs to the dress code. :-)

Now that we are retired in Tennessee I don't mind any part of the snow. It arrives like a good friend and doesn't overstay it's welcome. We just had our first snow. The fact that I had to go out in it first thing in the morning had it's good side. I was able to take this picture.

Cumberland Mountain State Park - TN

We really picked a great place to retire and I often forget how close I live to this park. I do not take advantage of it enough. But today, my husband took me to lunch at the park. Banana pudding is a trademark here.They were decorating the inside for Christmas and it gave me the shove I needed to get in the holiday spirit. Isn't this a beautiful tree? I don't know if it's real or not. I hate the thought of them chopping down such a pretty tree.
This is our famous park bridge. I don't know if it's really famous but I see pictures of it everywhere and on everything.
Fall is a great time to get pics of the park. I just need to set my mental timer next year and do it. Happy Holidays!

Goodbye - Farewell

Getting these three to line up for a family portrait is not as easy as it looks. We've all met Michelle and her younger sister, Shelly. Sig, their older brother, is in the middle.They didn't think I would notice they were inching their way to the patio.
Here they are playing on the waterfall.
You see, this is their last play together. Sig is striking out on his own. He's going to live with my daughter in Maine.
It's a bittersweet moment as Sig waits in his travel carrier for the postman to pick him up.
It's not like we won't see him again. We will visit him next summer and pictures will be sent. It will be fun to see where he goes and what he gets up to. It's a new adventure and isn't that what life should be...a series of adventures?

The Aftermath

Before I start on my purchases, I must relay a truly disgusting story. As soon as we entered the arena, we headed for the restrooms. It does not matter that we had already stopped twice before during the drive. It's morning. We are women. We drank coffee.

I head to the only open stall where there is a huge lake of water? on the floor. I shut the door, turned around, and Michelle (being a crab and always seeking water) falls to the floor when my fanny pack comes undone and then proceeds to land on Michelle to really soak it in. This is every horror story my mother warned me about.

It's not a total loss. I am in a bathroom, after all. I have soap and water and Catherine was prepared with Purell to slather on Michelle. Here she is taking a bath when we got home.......and just hanging around for the rest of the day.
This was the first of the two things I went to SAFF to purchase. It's VIP Fiber's Control Card. It's a yarn gauge PLUS if you want to spin a certain weight of yarn and know how many plies you want, it will tell you how thick to spin. I know this is all I need to now spin perfectly.

:-)

Perhaps this angelina will set off the fall coloured wool I dyed five or six years ago and entice me to spin it.... finally.
This is Politically Incorrect - One Night Stand Fiber Batts in the colourway "Winston". I see they sell on Etsy.
This is the only wool I purchased to spin. Even though it's only 4.1 oz., I know I can spin this fine enough and ply with a thread for lace weight. I can see this as a shawl or stole...maybe with some beads.

This is the one other item I went to SAFF for - the yarn bowl by Knit Witch.

I love the colour and the balls will be under control.
This was my final and unexpected purchase at the show, but I had to have them since I can not stop making and buying bags and totes. (see bottom) These are the straps for the multi-pocketed bag and wonderfully coloured leather leaves for embellishment on another bag as yet to be determined.

This bag was after the show at Earthfare in Knoxville. $25! Way cheaper than anyplace else I've seen. This will fit behind my seat and carry all those things I need but can't fit in my purse! Baby is protecting it.

I told you I can not resist a good tote.

SAFF

It's the first day of the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair and we are headed for Asheville, NC! We met at 5:30 and got to ride in Martha's Infinity. It's actually her husband's, but by association...hers for the trip. Marvelous car with all sorts of bells and whistles.Three hours later (four because we crossed a time zone), we are dropping off fleeces at Zeilinger's.
I've sent wool to Zeilinger's since I started spinning in Virginia ten years ago. They were located at the end of the vendor barn.
While the girls were busy, I got a sneak peak down the barn. This is side one.
This is side two. Every year there are more and more vendors.
Inside the arena. There are about four times the number of vendors from the first show I went to in 2002.
Martha, Peggy, and Catherine shopping at Delly's Delight Farm.
What a great cape!
Catherine is the only one tall enough to pull it off.
It's time for lunch!
Michelle met a dragon fly at The Sanguine Gryphon. They quickly became best buds.
At Politically Incorrect - Michelle had a fiber moment.
I appeased her by buying one (1) 4.1 ounce batt of scrumptious merino with a touch of glitz. Then she threw herself on the addi clicks but I held firm. We do not need another set of needles!
But we did find this bag we both liked and have to make. I bought black handles to make it with and the pattern is on the way. Now we must decide on the colours we want. They must match Michelle and not show dirt as we travel.
This was my last stop of the show. After a "short" drive to Knoxville, a good dinner at the Bonefish Grill, shopping at Earthfare for some good butter and Greek yogurt....we were on our way home. I day trip is so much better on the budget, especially when you already have everything you really need.

Tomorrow - an in depth discussion of purchases. :-)