About 20 years ago...

Actually, it's more like 22 years ago, that I worked in a crappy little record store in West St. Paul, Minnesota. There was this annoying assistant manager who was useless as tits on a bull, BUT in retrospect I have to admit that he was good for something after all.

This all started with my signing up for Rhapsody about a week ago. I was heading back to work and knew I would be completely lost without my mp3 player properly stoked up with tunes. For a modest monthly fee, I can get unlimited downloads of all sorts of stuff. I just can't burn copies of anything unless I buy the tracks. OK, fine. I use the mp3 player everywhere, even in the car. As long as I stay subscribed, I get to keep what I download. Tres cool. I have been revisiting music I haven't heard in 22 years.

But back to my useless assistant manager.

He was a fan of a local musician who had just released his first album. Who knew I would fall in love with that album the way I did?

I lost the cassette copy I made a long time ago, and I had almost forgotten about it. Then last night as I was scoring tunes by the Yardbirds and Traffic, I remembered Paul Metsa . His first album, Paper Tigers, has just been re-released on CD. Rhapsody has it, along with a couple of his other releases. I feel like I've gotten a hug from a long-lost friend, and not only that, I have an opportunity to catch up with his most recent work!

The link will take you to his page on CD Baby. There are audio samples. Check him out, you won't be sorry.

There are now seven parts of Doubtful Sound up on the website. Just updated yesterday, so if you've been waiting with bated breath...

Well, a writer can fantasize, can't s/he????

I've been spinning on my Golding spindle, but haven't felt much like knitting lately. I seem to go in phases. C'est la guerre!

New look!

Well, it's very cool that blogspot now lets me customize my blog so it's more "me," and so the text is large enough and visible enough for people to read! The older these eyes get, the harder it is to read small print, and many of my friends are in the same boat. Hope this makes the blog a little more pleasant for everyone.

The new header is an old pic of me. I was all of 6 or 7, I guess, and at that age, this is what I thought Tchaicovsky looked like. If he did, no wonder people had interesting ideas about him...

I'm a little bummed now 'cause my mother is pulling a lot of nonsense with me, and the trouble is, I'm not sure if she really is confused all the time, or if she's yanking my chain. She has been a great manipulator in the past, so I don't trust her. On the one hand, she cannot/will not keep any of the details straight regarding her medications and tests, is still balking about eating, will not bathe, will not gently exercise by walking as the doctor wants her to. in spite of all that, she thinks she is perfectly competent to drive and wants her car back. It's getting difficult enough that I finally put a call through to her doctor today and told her what's been going on. As regards the driving, the doctor is behind me 100%. Ma is mad as a hornet. I don't give the proverbial rat's posterior. If I put her back behind the wheel and she kills someone, that will be on my head for the rest of my life. I'm not willing to take that on. There's enough stuff in my life I sweat bullets about, without adding that to the picture.

Actually, I suppose saying I'm a little bummed is a gross understatement. I'm mad as hell, actually, because she is throwing away her chance for a good last few years of life with both hands. There's no excuse for it, as she came through her bypass surgery extraordinarily well. Better, in fact, than anyone, even the surgeon, had any right to hope. I've been trying very hard to be a good daughter and help her out with stuff, but it's all met with ingratitude and hostility. Also, I hear more and more frequently that she believes my sister and I made her go through with the surgery. She has said it to me, my sister, and also to various medical professionals, right in front of me. And it is a blatant lie! We encouraged her to have the surgery, in hopes that she would start feeling better physically, and that the general feeling of well-being might enable her to have some quality of life in her twilight years.

So much for that.

She has wanted to die since my father passed in 1983, and I believe that the only reason she signed on the dotted line was because she thought it would be her ticket out. She'd go to sleep and not wake up again.

So much for that.

I'm tired of bashing my head against the wall. I want to run, far and fast, and never look back.

I feel like the only way I'll ever be free of this burden is if she dies, or I die.

This sucks.

Time to listen to some Rory Gallagher again. At least when he is playing and singing, I don't feel so alone...

More Kick-Ass Blues!

I must say, I just adore You Tube! Some folks post the best darn stuff. This one is from the German program, Rockpalast, circa 1978. Live jam session -- off the cuff with no prior rehearsal! Frankie Miller is even more obscure in the States than Rory Gallagher. Who would know he's a Glaswegian, listening to that voice? Fact is you can't tell until he speaks at the end of the song. After seeing this video a few years back, I went on a quest to acquire as many of Frankie's CDs as could find. At the time, they were mostly out of print and I paid waaaaay too much for them. Good news is, many have been re-released, with bonus tracks!

Frankie Milller and Rory Gallagher

To learn more about Frankie, check out The Official Frankie Miller Website. It's a pretty incredible story.

No knitting content today. I'm between projects and have been spindling. I think I've become an addict...

People are STOOPIT!!!!

Well, some are, anyway. Stupid and vile. I am talking about the disgusting stunt Mark MaccGowan and Yoko Ono pulled this week, allegedly as a vegetarian protest against fox hunting.

Yes, folks, to draw the world's attention to the cruelty of fox-hunting, and to piss off the Royal Family, they cooked and ate a Corgi.

It boggles the mind! I wonder if they have any idea how many Corgi lovers are ready to kill them at worst, or at best, send them recipes and the main ingredient for Corgi-poop casseroles?

I found the man's e-mail addres and sent the following note. He may never read it, but at least I spoke my piece.

***

Mr. Mac Gowan:

I hope you realize that your recent gourmet adventure did little to promote awareness of the cruelty of fox hunting. Rather, you have inspired a world full of Corgi lovers to despise you and wish you much ill. That the Corgi in question was already dead is kind of moot, don't you think?

Corgis are wonderful, lively little dogs, loyal companions, captivating, and funny. I have three myself, and do not know what I would do without them. After reading about your stunt yesterday, you can be sure there were hugs and skritches for them, and more than a few tears. If someone had done this to one of MY Corgis, "blinding urge to kill" would not even begin to touch upon how I would feel!

Have you ever owned a pet yourself? A beloved childhood dog, perhaps? And what if your mum had decided that, instead of burying your loyal, loving companion, you would have it for dinner. I mean, it's meat, good source of protein, waste not, want not.

I continue to be utterly horror-struck, and I am not thinking about fox-hunting. I honestly wish I could throttle you, but think I will go and hug my Corgis instead.

With hostile regards,

An American Corgi Lover

***

As for Yoko...she can't sing worth a damn. If not for John Lennon, she'd have vanished in obscurity.

God rot their Corgi-eating souls!

Mr. Finnegan says: "Hey, Mark and Yoko, I'm hungry, and I think your livers would be tasty stewed with apples, onions, and a few spices..."

For sale!

I've been busy playing with felting! The first two bags were knitted up from my hand-dyed yarn. The spring green one is Olivine, while the brown one is Autumn Leaves. The third is Cascade 220. All yarns felted beautifully! Also, I had the opportunity to really test the colorfastness of my dyework. The felting process would have revealed problems, if there were any, and I am pleased to report that there were none. I hope these little bags will sell well, beacuse they are awfully fun to make, and the possibilities for color schemes are endless!

Click HERE to view the listing for this bag.

Click HERE to view the listing for this bag.

Click HERE to view the listing for this bag.

Free shipping on all of these, no matter where in the world you are!

Kerplink-Kerplank-Kerplunk

Anyone who has ever read/had to read Bluberries for Sal to their kids KNOWS from whence my title comes! This was our first trip to Stonington, Maine in the "on" season. No antiquing for us this time. We looked through the Book of Things To Do that our inkeeper, Christina, leaves in every one of her rooms at Inn on the Harbor, and chose accordingly. Being as we had Daphne with us, we thought she'd like to see where Sal and her mom picked wild blueberries, so off we drove to find the trail leading up to the summit of Blue Hill. I'm not much of a hiker, and certainly I have never undertaken anything this physically challenging! I am sore today, but it was worth it. I even managed to knit a few stitches before the black flies found me and started to feast.

Note to self: never, ever go hiking in Maine without Bug Spray, preferably stuff with DEET in it.

But here is the view...spectacular, yes?


I have been working on more Lucy bags, finished one on the ride up to Maine, and began a second one. The second one has a few body rows left to go, and the two straps. Then into the washer it goes. Here I am, working on the beginnings of the second bag. It's in two colors of Cascade 220, rather than my hand-dyed stuff.


Again, I only managed to do about half a round before the black flies got really nasty, but at least I can say that I came, I saw, and I knitted.

We were much too early for the lupines, but on the other side of the hill, we found ONE with a few colorful buds at the bottom of the flower spike. We were also way too early for wild blueberries, but noted that many of the bushes are already covered with blossoms.

Would I do this hike again? Well, Christina says it is really extraordinarily beautiful in the Fall. No matter how much my ankles, hips, and knees ache today, I think I just...might...have to...

But only AFTER a trip to LL Bean for hiking boots with good ankle support and some killer bug spray.

If you are ever in the Sedgwick area, on the way over to Deer Isle, there is a brand new Mexican takeout place called El El Frijole. (If you know any Spanish at all, you'll "get" the name. Very clever!) Anyway, you get a whopping huge burrito stuffed with beans, rice, and a choice of excellent fillings, and free access to a fantastic fresh salsa bar. Unbelievably good, not too expensive, and well worth a visit. The restaurant is in a barn behind the owners' house and there are picnic tables galore for outdoor eating. Inside there are a few small tables, and we camped out at one of those, so we could have continual access to that salsa bar! It's right on Route 15, heading towards Deer Isle, in the Sedgwick area, officially in a little town called Sargentville. They just opened this brand-new restaurant for business YESTERDAY. What luck! I'm so glad we decided to stop and try it.

Eye and Ear Candy!

If you like the blues and have heard me go on and on and on about Rory Gallagher, see/listen for yourself!

Rory & Taste - If the Day was Any Longer

Rory & Taste - Gambling Blues

Yes, I spent too much time on You Tube today. My knee is out, due to the wet weather, so what else is a gal to do while resting the afflicted joint?

Surf, watch, & listen, of course.

Cindy, you will get your wish. the bag is done, and I will bring it to Su's on Tuesday. For the rest of you, I'll post pics when it's dry. Came out darn good, even if I do say so myself!

Stupid Fun

For pointless, mindless fun accompanied by skirling bagpipes, try the link below.

http://bashthehaggis.com/

Yes, I have had far too much fun with this since I found the link on one of the Black 47 forums.

Off to a sock machine workshop tomorrow, in hopes of learning to work with my freakin' ribber.

Yes, I have also been watching too many freakin' Sopranos re-runs.

Having a slow 'n stupid day as far as writing goes, but will post part 4 over the weekend sometime.

For knitting, I am working on a Lucy Bag made from my hand-dyed yarn. Will post pics if it comes out the way I think it's going to.

Spindle Spun

Coopworth/Mohair blend -- 8 oz. -- 560 yds. -- ALL spindle spun by moi.

Close-up. What would YOU make with it???

Whorlwind Weekend...

I'm back from NH Sheep & Wool finally, and procrastinating getting my eBay store back up, 'cause frankly I am tired of wool right now and would rather write. However, I think I've earned a Day Off to live in my head and write a bit.

I enjoyed my time at the Festival, but did not do as well sales-wise as I had hoped. Still, I have signed up and pre-paid my space for next year, and this time I will make sure I advertise my location well ahead of time. I also learned a lot, watching what sorts of purchases walked by as I manned my booth. Multi-colored rovings seemed to be hot this year, so the coming months will see me experimenting with dyeing rovings. I'll start from stash and see what I get, and if it's good, I will start looking for a Source. You all know the kind of Source I mean -- good quality, not too expensive -- and probably a b*tch to find. LOL.

I have been finding odd moments to continue work on my short story, Doubtful Sound, and now have three consecutive parts up on my website. I feel confident enough of finishing it that I have dared to build an index page and add a link, which you will find on the right hand side of this blog, in my links list. I do hope some of you will read and let me know what you think. Intrigued? Not? Dull? Interesting? Roped in? Don't care what happens next? All feedback is useful when I have a work in progress. Also, if I know people are keeping up with what I'm writing, I'll be more inclined to be punctual about working towards the end. If there's someone out there reading (and I know I have at least one reader) heavens forfend that I should disappoint by skipping a week! And I do need to keep this writing thing going. It's good for me, and I really enjoy imagining all sorts of things and sorting them out on paper. Yes, I do this mainly for myself, but part of the fun is knowing that other people enjoy reading it, too.

I think I've done enough on it today, though, and in spite of the fact that I said I thought I'd earned a day off from wool, I hear it calling me! Yikes! One would think that after two solid days on my feet doing little else but drop-spindling, I would have had it by now. Not so. I have two new spindles and some gorgeous wool/mohair roving to play with. If I wasn't so lazy, I'd post some pics now, but as it is, maybe I will put some up tomorrow.

At least two people returned to my booth late yesterday afternoon to show me drop spindles they had purchased after being inspired by watching me work! I referred lots of folks to the Bosworths, and sent a few over to looks at Goldings as well. And one lady came back with a beautiful Kundert, of which I have one that I love, so I was thrilled to see that those were available from some vendors, too. So you see, sales or no sales, I have to go back next year, to see what these folks will have accomplished by then!

New profile picture was taken at a drop-spindling workshop last summer in St. Margaret's Hope, Orkney, by photographer par excellence, Liz Lovick. She's one heck of a great knitter/designer, too. Have a look at http://northernlace.co.uk

Something New

I have felt like writing fiction again these last few days. Naturally, that means I have too many other things to do and so am looking for an escape. I've had this story on the back burner for a few years now, and whilelooking it over yesterday, I realized I have enough contiguous pages to begin serializing it on my website. This probably won't be my final draft, but it's close enough. I will try to get a new segment up every week, and hopefully knowing I have to keep up with it will get me through the whole thing to the end. I have an idea where I'm heading with it, but after page 38, all have are a bunch of loosely linked "future" excerpts.

Well, hope this proves enjoyable. It's a good exercise for me, to get back in touch with who I am as a writer.

Here's the link.

http://www.mad-angel.com/cp/doubtfulsound_1.html

I Must Have Something to Say?

Civil War Shawl, Week 1

One of my good webfriends has given me a gentle nudge, noting that I have two blogs and I rarely update either one. Alas, how true! I am always promising to be better about that, and always falling on my face on that score, too. So, no more promises to be better about updates, and maybe that will work in some sort of strange way, and I will find myself writing more often. Lord knows I am going to need an outlet in the coming months.

As Bob Dylan says in a favorite song of mine, "Blame it all on a simple twist of fate."



As if it isn't enough that I am trying to balance work, family, choir, and some rare time for myself, almost two weeks ago, my mother had a Health Crisis. What I at first believed to be hypochondria -- she DOES have that kind of track record after all -- turned out to be a lot more serious. REAL, in fact. Within a week of me leaving work to take her to the doctor to address some vague symptoms, she underwent a double bypass. Turned out that sometime in the past three years she had a silent heart attack and some major blood vessels were too far blocked to be repaired with stents and angioplasty. Yikes!

Last Tuesday was the operation. It was successful, but she still feels nauseated at the mere sight of food and is sinking into depression due to being able to do nothing at all for herself yet. Being a person who tends to depression myself, I'm more than a bit daunted by suddenly being elected Head Cheerleader. My own spirits are none so good, and I have to try to elevate hers? Double Yikes!!!

I do not want to go the antidepressant route again, so am planning to do holistic sorts of things to help myself along. Reiki will help. I may arrange for more frequent sessions if I don't have the energy to treat myself at the end of the day. And already -- you knew it was going to come in here somewhere, didn't you? -- knitting has been a great friend. So has drop-spindling, and both activities are great conversation ice breakers with doctors and nurses.

Civil War Shawl, Week 2

Usually I work on socks, as they are portable and fairly mindless. But on the day of the surgery, I arrived in the waiting room with my Civil War Shawl in hand. The waiting room was huge and well-appointed, so I carried my half-the-house to a quiet corner and settled in for the duration. Turned on my audio book, started knitting, and with a couple of stretch/bathroom breaks, the time pretty well flew. 7:30 AM to 1PM. No anxiety whatsoever, and then the doctor came out to tell me about how things went. He spoke of that oh-so-briefly and started asking questions about my shawl. Then he offered to help me with some of my belongings and escorted me upstairs to the ICU waiting room. I did not expect that "help you carry some of that" meant that he would then pick up every single bag and box, but that was what happened. So, not just a skilled surgeon, but a courteous human being as well. I was mightily impressed.

Civil War Shawl, Week 4

Now I am off to tackle my day again, which includes running some errands for Ma first, then going up to the hospital to spend some time with her. She may or may not be transferred to rehab this afternoon, so I have to find out what the current plan is. If it turns out that she must stay in the hospital a few more days, I will not be surprised.

The latest socks are coming with me. They are plain stockinette in a nice hand-painted colorway. Superwash merino. Supersoft for a nice foot treat when all is said and done. The shawl is my morning Quiet Time. Maybe it's meditation time, too, but it's hard to say, since I am usually counting along pretty intensively as I work.

Am taking a leave of absence from my job until the end of May, and hope to ease my way back part-time, with a possible drift back to full-time. However, if I can make my Yarn Thing fly...

Guess who is vending at NH Sheep & Wool this year?????

Banish Misfortune, Get On With the Show!

If this doesn't give people a chuckle, what will, I ask? "Man Fixes Toilet." Said Man was wicked P.O.ed at me for snapping this pic, but it was too good to pass up. so here is hubby on my blog, trying to decide the best way to repair the failing toilet. This was originally a "powder room" in our house, but now it contains all our laundry facilities, too. Someday after other household renovations are done, we'll change the original color scheme to something more palatable. Pepto Pink should only exist in a bottle, mais-oui?

Above is proof that I finally got my sock machine running. K. and I devoted most of Saturday to sorting out its myriad quirks. For a brand-new, ready-to-use machine, we sure had a lot of finish work to do. There were burrs and filings in the cylinder to be dealt with, and a lot of rough places in each and every eye yarn has to travel through, but once those rough places were made plain, I was merely struggling with Operator Error. The proverbial deck was stacked in a more auspicious way and I finished my first scarf, below. I'll be selling it in my eBay store as soon as I have a chance to list it. Came out really nicely, even if I do say so myself!

Here's a detail of the crocheted edging.

Also finished up some plying I've been meaning to get to for awhile. The first is a skein of llama. People have a tendency to drop off garbage bags of fiberey stuff on my doorstep. This was a very dirty bit of fleece gifted to me by a herdsman at Tufts. He handed me the bag and said, "This is Preston." So below is Preston, transformed. I washed "him," then spun lock by lock without combing, hand-pulling guard hairs as I went along. I'm thinking that perhaps something from Arctic Lace might be in order for this stuff.

And here is a picture of the "Jamaica" fiber I bought from Su awhile back. View and weep, as Ashland Bay is no longer making this colorway.

Here is the whole output, from a distance, drying on the rack.

Thanks to those who wrote and tried to talk me out of last week's bummer. I do feel better now. Have a plan, and hope that my resolve will not weaken. And also wonder WHY, when someone has been an a-hole to me for so long, does he suddenly turn nicey-nice for no apparent reason? Either he has radar, or someone else has been talking to him before I had a chance to write and send my resignation letter. Not too many people know that I am planning to resign, but a few do, and I wonder...

All I have to do is figure out whether I'll quit after this weekend, or wait until the end of the season. It's about self-preservation now. Rehearsals today and tomorrow plus a gig should strengthen my resolve. I should not be heading off to practice wondering where I could undetecably pack a hip flask...

The More I Know the People of God, the Better I Like My Dogs

None of this has anything to do with knitting today. I’m just completely, utterly, totally in a Bad Place, and I don’t know what to do about it, beyond writing and hoping maybe I’ll figure out a thing or two along the way.

I sing. I have done so competently and seriously for over twenty years, and have offered my alleged “gift” in various church choirs in that time. I should feel fulfilled and satisfied, as if I were doing something I was meant to do. I should feel as if I am spiritually connected and filled with praise. I should LOVE what I am doing.

Well, those “shoulds” are for an ideal world.

Not for the first time, I am wishing I had never, ever been given an ability to do music. It seems that for each rare moment of delight, I have spent at least thousand times that in gut-wrenching pain, feeling worthless, unloved, unappreciated, unsupported, overworked, and ostracized.

I spend at least a portion of every day in every week dreading going to rehearsal on Thursday nights. I don’t look forward to Sunday services at all. I want out, but instead will dutifully go through the motions and pretend nothing is wrong because I am TERRIFIED of where a confrontation will lead.

Things may be said that can never, ever be taken back or forgiven.

A friendship will most likely be lost. Possibly two friendships, actually. In one case, perhaps there never really was a friendship to begin with. Perhaps I made another stunning error in who to choose to trust and befriend. I have a bad track record in that, and I am afraid to have it confirmed again, lest I feel like even more of a loser/moron than I already do most of the time.

Would I be this much of an idiot if not for music? More than anything, what I need right now is to step back and not perform for awhile. I have reason to believe that my need will not be honored, much less met. There will be a price. What I have spent so many years doing may come to an end forever.

Am I ready to embrace “forever”? Can I really live without offering music? Am I really able to fold up my tent and go home? Because there will be no opportunity to backslide. The bridge will not be burnt. It will be nuked.

I am scared to death.

Happy New Year!

Greetings! Long time no blog, I know. Busy with work, choir, family, yada-yada-yada. But this was the view from my living room window in Maine on New Year's Day. Once again, Keith and I were visiting the Inn on the Harbor in Stonington, ME for a restful break after the holidays. This time we brought Daphne, who loved the place every bit as much as we do.

As some of you may recall, I have been working on a commission sweater for Christina, the owner of the Inn. And as my friends could have predicted...who was knitting in the car all the way up on Saturday the 30th? Me, of course! And then I spent a couple additional hours finishing the neckline after supper in our room. I had packed the Eucalan and the woolly board. The sweater went into the kitchen sink at 10:30 PM, was rolled in towels to soak up the excess water, and placed on the woolly board in front of the woodstove to dry overnight.



Needless to say, it was still really wet at the waistband by morning, but I brought it down to Christina for the first fitting nevertheless. We discovered that the neck had an unpleasant tendency to flare, so New Year's Eve saw me tightening up the neckline. In the morning, however, everything looked so much brighter. Perfect fit in every respect!



Unfortunately, the detail doesn't show up well in these photos, as it's simply the very devil to photograph heathered lavender. Just look at Christina's smile, though. She was thrilled with the sweater, and I am so pleased to have had the honor of designing and knitting for her.

With no major project in my immediate future, I finally finished my Coopworth socks. This is my first pair done completely with my own spindle spun yarn. I spun in the grease from hand-combed locks, and I spun them in totally random order. Whatever came to hand as I reached into the bag got spun right up. No plan, just utter serendipity. The socks are unashamedly fraternal. I adore them.


Some of you already know I always said I would never, ever use a drop spindle. Too tedious. Too time consuming.

Ha! Drop spindles are portable. A small hunk of wool will keep a person busy for quite awhile. Drop spindles are smaller than spinning wheels and thus easier to hide when I have committed a retail therapy indiscretion. There are so many different styles, too, and each one has its own unique merits. I will be playing with spindles a lot more in the New Year, I think.

Oh, and the best thing about a drop spindle? I can spin on my coffee and lunch breaks at work if I don't feel like knitting. The Golding and Bosworth minis are wonderful companions.

Wishing everyone the best for a fibery 2007!

Dr. Phil's Test -- Paula's Version

This one keeps cropping up in my inbox. For some of the questions, there is simply no answer that really fits me, so I thought I’d have some fun with it here in blogland. Let’s go…!

1. When do you feel your best?

a) in the morning
b) during the afternoon and early evening
c) late at night

Gee, that all depends on the day and what I have to do. If I wake up a couple of hours before everyone else in the house and can spend time with some knitting/spinning project, a dog or two curled up near me, and a good audio book, then morning is the best time. EARLY morning! Everything starts to go downhill once I have to stop knitting and wake people up so they won’t be late for school/job/choir. Crikey, it’s like herding cats. Most ungratifying…


2. You usually walk…

a) fairly fast, with long steps
b) fairly fast, with little steps
c) less fast head up, looking the world in the face
d) less fast, head down
e) very slowly

Hmm…in an ideal world, I guess I would walk quickly, with a fairly long stride. However, at age 44, with pronated ankles, flat feet, and a couple of spectacular ankle-injuring falls in my recent past, I tend to go more slowly and watch the ground for possible hazards. But I WANT to go faster, with a long stride. Do I get any points for intent? Probably not. Drat these flippy-floppy ankles!

3. When talking to people you…

a) stand with your arms folded
b) have your hands clasped
c) have one or both your hands on your hips
d) touch or push the person to whom you are talking
e) play with your ear, touch your chin, or smooth your hair

WHERE, pray tell, is “stand with your hands in your pockets?” Folding one’s arms looks aggressive. Clasping one’s hands looks too prayerful in ordinary circumstances. Hands on hips looks like a challenge. And who pushes another person, unless trying to provoke a fight? OK, so sometimes I run my hand through my hair, but…mostly it’s hands in pockets if I’m standing. Hands occupied with knitting or spindlling if seated.

4.When relaxing, you sit with…

a) your knees bent with your legs neatly side by side
b) your legs crossed
c) your legs stretched out or straight
d) one leg curled under you

A good knitting project, thank you very much! Legs tend to be restless. Hard to find a confortable position for them, so position varies every few minutes.

5. When something really amuses you, you react with...

a) big appreciated laugh
b) a laugh, but not a loud one
c) a quiet chuckle
d) a sheepish smile

Well, I don’t always respond the same way. Depends on the situation. If we are discussing “merkins” versus “firkins” or “gesso” versus “jism,” then guffaws turn into soundless wheezing with tears. Sometimes a joke is only worth a small chuckle, or in cases of utterly poor taste where one doesn’t wish to be as rude as the person telling the joke, the sheepish smile will do. No simple answers, really, are there?

6. When you go to a party or social gathering you…

a) make a loud entrance so everyone notices you
b) make a quiet entrance, looking around for someone you know
c) make the quietest entrance, trying to stay unnoticed

Depends on the nature of the party, doesn’t it? If it’s a gang of hubby’s co-workers, then I tag along with him, get introduced to myriad people, and sit in a corner with my “security knitting” at the earliest possible opportunity. This often ends up being a crowd draw, although it wasn’t intended to be. People talk about some dear departed relative who “used to do that” and the time passes nicely while people enjoy telling their stories and I continue to knit. In a group of textile friends, why be quiet? We all know each other, we aren’t shy. In a situation like that, I can be pretty extroverted. But in most situations, I try to make a quiet entrance and stay unnoticed until I have determined how comfortable I am being there in the first place.

7. You're working very hard, concentrating hard, and you're interrupted. You...

a) welcome the break
b) feel extremely irritated
c) vary between these two extremes

This one I can honestly say that I vary between the two extremes,leaning more towards irritation. When I die, my epitaph will read: “What do you want NOW????”

8. Which of the following colors do you like most?

a) Red or orange
b) black
c) yellow or light blue
d) green
e) dark blue or purple
f) white
g) brown or gray

Ooh, this is just NOT FAIR! How about ranking in order of preference instead? 1) Black 2) Purple/Dark blue 3) Green 4) Gray/Brown 5) Red (and it had better be a bluish red, NOT an orangey red!) 6) Orange (Must be its own separate entity, not part of Red!) 7) Yellow

I do not care for White or Light blue much at all.

9. When you are in bed at night, in those last few moments before
going to sleep you are…

a) stretched out on your back
b) stretched out face down on your stomach
c) on your side, slightly curled
d) with your head on one arm
e) with your head under the covers

Oy veh, here’s one of those “in an ideal world” questions again! I LOVE to fall asleep on my back. Trouble is, within five minutes hubby is elbowing me to turn over because I’m snoring. Loudly. And he can no longer hear his television program. So I must sleep on my side. The left side. Still snoring, but pointed away from hubby, and the snoring isn’t quite as bad when I’m lying on my side. But for an afternoon nap when no one is around to hear but the dogs…I lie on my back. And I snore. So do they. All three of ’em.

10. You often dream that you are...

a) falling
b) fighting or struggling
c) searching for something or somebody
d) flying or floating
e) you usually have dreamless sleep
f) your dreams are always pleasant

In highly improbable situations. Sometimes this is funny and I wake up laughing. Sometimes it’s scary and I just wake up, take a good swig of water, and try to go back to sleep again. I often don’t remember what I dreamed by morning.

Now…how do I e-mail this to Dr. Phil? And more importantly, how would he score me if he read this?

Happy day, y’all!

Photo Quota Exceeded???

I don't know what's up with blogspot. Maybe it's me, but for the last two days I have not been able to upload any pictures. Could it be that I have exceeded my storage quota here? Perhaps. And that's a problem when I have finally begun to document my trip to Scotland. What point would there be without pictures? So, I am hosting the Scotland Journal on my own webpage. You'll find all the necessary info at http://www.mad-angel.com/scotland/scotland_index.html I'll keep updating as time permits, and hopefully give you some idea what the experience was like for me. Please bookmark the site and enjoy! First entry is up now.

Before I Forget...

I think I had better document a couple of recipes I just invented! I have a tendency to forget what I put in when I make something divine, so every time I try to recreate it, it comes out differently. Not always better, though!

Hubby says I make the best tuna salad in the Universe, and tonight's is especially good, since the tuna base is leftover cold grilled tuna steak from a couple of nights ago. (But I did add a can of albacore as well, and you could easily get away with using four cans of that if you don't have the fresh stuff on hand.)

So, roughly 24 ounces of tuna, dried dill, dried tarragon, a generous dash of celery salt, a small onion, a few stalk of celery, a big handful of walnut meats, and enough mayo to hold it all together. Toss all the ingredients in the food processor and pulse until all is chopped fine and throughly blended. It will have more of a pate consistency than the tuna salad one gets in sandwich shops, and is fabulous on a nice crusty artisan bread with a little romaine lettuce.

I also made some stuffed eggs to go with the tuna sandwiches, and the filling is absolutely to die for, even if I do say so myself! Hard boil as many eggs as you think you'll eat in a sitting. Cool, peel, cut in half, and put yolks in the food processor bowl. Now add as many olives as you feel like pitting. (I used Nicoise olives, so I think maybe about a dozen of these got done before I was sick of pitting them.) Add a healthy splash of some nice vinegar (I used cider, but any will do) and a small handful of fresh garden herbs. (The ones I used today were Basil and Nasturtium leaves -- yum!) Throw in enough mayo to hold all together and blend thoroughly. Stuff eggs and refrigerate for an hour or so. Man, o man! I sampled the filling and it was purely out of this world. Can't wait to see what it tastes like when it has had time to chill.

I know I still owe folks a Scotland update or two or three. I am still sorting all my pics and also waiting for a disc of photos our wonderful organizer is sending. (Looking forward to it, Liz!)

I will be starting a separate Scotland blog, since it seems I have run out of picture space in this locale. Weird! Will post a link shortly and see if it works.

Finished Stuff!

At long last, my Opal Flamingo Socks! I finished them on Saturday morning in my hotel room in Washington, D.C. It was too hot to wear these to my cousin's wedding later in the day, plus they would have looked a bit odd with my dress. But I did wear them home yesterday, and a good thing that was, as the airline lost our luggage. (HOW does an airline manage to screw up putting a bag on a direct flight, especialy when said direct flight is not full?) Luckily, it took a mere couple of minutes to determine that our bag was still in D.C. and would be arriving on a later flight. It was delivered to my door first thing this morning, none the worst for wear, and I once again had access to my oh-so-lethal knitting tools. (That would be a pair of scissors, some stitch markers, some larger sized circs, and my chibi needles.) Without those tools, I could not have completed...

...this. You've seen it in progress, and now here it is, drying on my bed. Can you believe, the pattern ends with 4 rows of garter stitch and a bind-off row, and that I only had enough yarn to make it about a third of the way through the third row???? I had hoped to wear this to the wedding, but with more yarn needing to be spun at the last minute, I kind of missed the deadline. I dashed off enough yardage to finish this morning, wove in my ends, and gave it a wash. I was too eager to see the thing made up to bother washing a tiny skein and waiting for it to dry, so the last two rows and bind-off were worked "in the grease." It washed up very nicely, though, and I am thrilled with the shawl. And what a spinning geek I am! Am I waiting for the shawl to dry comepletely so I can WEAR it? Heavens, no. I am waiting for it to dry completely so I can see how much extra weight the edging added to the central triangle. If it's 5 ounces or under, I think my triumphal shouts may well be heard as far away as Kalamazoo. This is the most consistent, finest gauge yarn I have spun yet. A definite entry for the Big E this year!

New Project Picture Journal

Coopworth Fleece purchased at NH Sheep & Wool on Saturday, 13 May 2006. 3-1/2 lbs shorn from an 11 month onld ewe named Maggie. So clean I am working with it "in the grease" and loving it!

These are freshly hackled locks, still in the grease, and ready to spin. I still can't believe how easily this stuff goes through the hackle, and how little waste there is!

This is the center section of my razor shell/feather and fan shawl. I decided to see how it would block out before starting the feather and fan edging, plus I need to spin some more of the yarn so I can finish. This is one of Liz Lovick's patterns, and I really love its simple elegance.

Here's a little close-up shot. Dig the variations in color! Can anyone say "Big E?"