For Cindy

Hey you! I miss you too! I finally caught up reading on your blog and decided that I'd post here so you'd have something to read. Not much is going on here other than the normal stuff that keeps me away from the computer. I've only been doing enough yard work to get veggies to grow in the garden. No weeds have been eradicated from my flower beds, and to be honest, I'm completely re-thinking our landscaping. I think I'll change it so that it's so low maintenance that it's not funny. I will make my neighbor jealous with the beauty of my yard vs. the lack of time spent in it! They will say, "Dang her! She's off to have fun with that husband of hers again!!! How is she able to have such a stunning yard and spend so much time away from it?!!! How is it he's only got to mow it occasionally, while we are slaves to our mowers twice weekly?!!! Why she is a cleaver cleaver girl! " Yes, I plan to really irritate the neighbors next year! As for this year? Well they're probably irritated about the weeds and lack of mowing, but with Tucker out there guarding the gate, who's really gonna complain? ;) Love that dog! By the way, only two groupings of my squash turned out to be minis....the rest are coming in normal length. I tell ya, I was happy to see that the other night!!! Unfortunately I snagged some zucs from a friend so now we'll have squash coming out our ears. What the hell?! What's summer without squash coming our our ears! Oh well! And! I picked our first full sized cucumber of the year yesterday!

On the fiber front, there's been a bit of a stall. We were having these beautiful HOT HOT days and they were great for drying fiber outside. Dyeing was not a problem cause the extra humidity didn't matter and evaporated off quickly. Well, in true Northwest fashion, the cloud coverage came in, the heat stayed and we had HUMIDITY. WOW. I thought about it, but decided that I could be reasonably locked up in a nut house for dyeing fiber in that kind of humidity. So....while I finished a few more colors, pictures have not been taken yet for you to view and I do have a few more colors to dye. I'll confess to loving every minute of picking the dyed fiber apart as it's so bright, shiny and wonderful!!!! Did I mention I have solid WHITE on the wheel right now? No? Well, I do....and I've almost completed a third bobbin full which means plying is right around the corner, and then a washing, then a dyeing!!! WOO HOO! Yes, I'll take pics and yes I'll post asap. Man do I hate spinning white! Boreing!

A sad thing happened Monday. Let me back up and lead into this properly. Last week was so dry and hot. Really it was. Even the pooch Tucker hated it. He gets a bit grumpy when it's that dry and hot. Is Grover the same way? Everything was dusty and watering the garden was a must. Every. Day. Sunday morning it was hot and muggy and we were sweating at 8 am outside. This is the Pacific Northwest. We're not used to heat. So anyway. After setting the pooch up for the day with cool water, cool pool, cool sleepy spots, etc we disappeared for the day on the motorcycles. (I'll post on that another time.) Monday morning I got up and started the sprinklers in the garden to insure that everything got watered. It was overcast, but muggy and warm and I just wanted to make sure everything had water. As soon as I shut off the sprinklers it started to rain. Just a drop or two, but it was rain. Within a half an hour it was raining like it only does in Washington. Tucker was as happy as a clam out there running around, chasing bugs, playing in the rain! lol He's totally a Washington dog! The sad part? Well, it's only mid August, and I had the though that pretty soon I'd "get" to spend more time inside knitting and spinning. Isn't it a bit early to be wishing for winter?!!! lol It's been raining off and on since then. As I'm sitting here, I'm listening to the rain. Ya know, I kinda missed it. I'd forgotten how soothing it was to listen to. lol We even had thunder the other night! lol Silly of me, but late summer storms have this effect on me. I find myself looking for that knitting project I put down, and planning the next. ;) Abbie is really wishing the weather would turn to the horrid for awhile. She's only had one day of decent knitting/lap time in the last 3 months. She's not thrilled that it could be another two before things settle down. Soon, I tell her, soon.

So I have a myriad of projects I want to work on and never enough time in the day/week. I guess that's a good thing, cause I can't imagine what I'd do if I ever completed the "to do" list. ;) Hang in there girl. Here's hoping that the end of summer finds all well with you and a full knitting basket to keep you busy through the winter months!

Sorry I don't post more often, but that will improve as the weather dwindles! We've taken a bunch of pictures of rides and will post on those soon. Also I have big plans for dyeing and blending experiments to post here.:)

Thanks for the feed back on the blog layout. Every time I check it from work I'm surprised by the new layout. lol. I think I may just keep it here for awhile and not move, I like it that much. Still not sure, but I'll let you know.

Love you bunches. Kiss Grover on the soft black top of his nose for me. Hug the mum for me and have her hug you back....of course, from me. Your package will be delayed as I've come up with a fab idea to include in it and can not wait to complete it for you!!!!! Good thing you're not holding your breath!

Love you again!

A

P.S. Hopefully I'll be posting again soon!