Day 1Wow. So I am having a total blast with the Canadians! They rolled up to Casa de Newton about 3:30 Wednesday afternoon. From that point Himself went into Wichita to play poker and the Canadians and I went to Applebees for some grub.
Molly and I dropped JF back at the house, grabbed our knitting, and drove to Wichita for the KIP (knit in public) meeting. Everyone always seems to have so much fun...so many projects, yarns, stories, coffee, etc. After the meeting, we went to Target to look for holiday shirts. Not finding
exactly what we needed, we were strong and walked out without purchasing anything.
Day 2
Molly and I have been knitting every opportinity we can get. I'm still working ona pair of socks for Grammie (due 4 PM Saturday) and Molly found a really cool tea-cozy pattern.
We have a special treat today. We are meeting a friend whose mom's church was ready to trash a huge room of yarn that had been originally collected to start a knitting group at their church. In a way we feel we are rescuing the yarn from certain death.
(After visiting the stash): My lord....there were more boxes than I could count...some of them huge refreigerator boxes full of WOOL, mohair, silk, linen.......it was totally overwhelming....Molly and I are at a loss. What really is irritating is that churches are always looking for $$....they have no idea how many thousands of dollars they could have made if they had an enterprising parishoner that would have sold the stuff on ebay.
Here is what we made off with (and I swear,
you couldn't tell we even touched anything!) We could have opened our own yarn shop had we taken it all (shit, we could have donated 1/2 the $$ back to the short-sighted church that gave it away)!
The rest of the night, Molly and I divided the yarn and finally had to resort to a coin toss when it came to some hanks of Rowan and some handspun Penguin yarns. We both agreed that this was well worth the 1500 mile drive to Kansas! The guys however (after much eyerolling at our pilles of wooly bliss), said thatt if either of us purchased any yarn before next July that we would be in serious trouble!
After the yarn party we resumed our positions to finish the projects we already had started
(although the new wool was calling at us...eventually we had to move the stash upstairs so it would have less influence).
JF was busy playing his "Civ 4" game. Its cool how much he an Himself are alike. If fact, JF forgot one of the disks for his game and the Guys had no problem pitching in, going to the game store, and buy a whole 'nuther copy of the game. We like yarn, they like
games...we can't really bitch too much.
Pat settled in to the couch and that pretty much summed up Day 2. I have to work a half day on Day 3, but after that we plan on
going to the shops in Newton, knitting, and doing our prezzie exchange before the big Family Rush on Day 4.
West wall showing lathe exposed (notice all the dust in the air):
Blown-in insulation exposed:
Hard at work:
Check out the results!
We did our gift exchange that night since the weekend would be filled with family. Molly and I were overwhelmed with knitting goodies!!
They look totally thrilled, don't they? Two little packages of kitty treats...guess next year they should be better.
Himself's pile of loot. He pretty much scored books and gummies. Both items will probably last him about 8-10 weeks. Notice that his prezzies are sitting on the Canadian's new chess table.
Mmmmm....Tim Hortons. I guess the refills are only $4, but that is a hell of a distance to drive to fill'er up. We'll have to make sure we bring it on our next road trip to the Great North.
We have a special treat today. We are meeting a friend whose mom's church was ready to trash a huge room of yarn that had been originally collected to start a knitting group at their church. In a way we feel we are rescuing the yarn from certain death.
The rest of the night, Molly and I divided the yarn and finally had to resort to a coin toss when it came to some hanks of Rowan and some handspun Penguin yarns. We both agreed that this was well worth the 1500 mile drive to Kansas! The guys however (after much eyerolling at our pilles of wooly bliss), said thatt if either of us purchased any yarn before next July that we would be in serious trouble!
(although the new wool was calling at us...eventually we had to move the stash upstairs so it would have less influence).
games...we can't really bitch too much.
going to the shops in Newton, knitting, and doing our prezzie exchange before the big Family Rush on Day 4.
Family and Friends know that they are all getting hand-knit prezzies for the holidays (so don't expect much else...hint, hint). As of today, Saturday, November 25, all the knitting for the New Zealanders is done! The scarves have been wrapped and sealed in ziplocks for the trip across the ocean and will be shipped on Monday (john's scarf is still being blocked as we speak). Hopefully, this will get the gifts there around The Big Day and not sometime in February as has been the case in the past.
B. Make sure air passes through the holes...try blowing in them!
C. Viola! A Bum Fire...and its Leave No trace too!
8. Off to bed. Jessica and Lecia discuss the finer points of staying warm that night.
2. Happy Campers: Tracey and Lecia chillin' (literally) at "base camp."
the spring and the plants grow up tall, but after that I get bored. My gardens are all about the plants and the constant change of blooming periods.
I have to remind myself that the gardens need this. It is a natural cycle and keeps the insects and disease at bay. It is hard to walk out in the dead of winter and see naked trees, beds that look barren and devoid of life, and wilted planters.
will reawaken into bursts of color and life. Buds will appear on the apple tree in the Fruit Garden and the tulips, long forgotten, will pop up again and surprise me with their vibrancy.
