Lazy Summer Days
Mood:  on fire
Now Playing: "Sailing" by Christopher Cross
Twenty four years ago this week I was spending my first two weeks at the beach, and developing my first crush on an older guy (he was 20). John is now one of my best friends; we remained friends through the years, past that horrible crush stage (I was MUCH too young for him!), to the point where we call each other up to discuss work (he's an appraiser too; got into it after I did). And Sea Isle City is still one of my favorite places to be. I want a portion of my ashes to be scattered there when I die. :)

Here is a picture of SIC:



While that is a horrible photo, the beaches are clean, with very soft white sand, the water is always in the 70's in August, and the people are friendly.

On the fiber front; I haven't done much. I have three more days until the parade, and then I can kick back and relax for a month.

It is raining here. I love the smell of rain in the summer time. Everything smells clean.

Feeling Nostalgic
Mood:  chillin'
Now Playing: "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love" by the Spinners
So far this summer, the weather has been perfect, and hearing the above mentioned song makes me think of the summers long ago that I used to spend down in southern NJ at my grandmothers. She ran a grocery store for many years with my Uncle Babe, who sold it to my cousin Paul, who ran it for several years, then closed it. My grandmother worked in the store as a cashier 40+ hours a week until she was 85 years old. My fondest childhood memories are of being down at my grandmothers; swimming at my aunt's pool (she lives across the street from where my grandmother lived, the house my uncle now owns), taking day trips down to the beach, hanging out at the store, sometimes even getting paid to work (I liked to dust cans and shelves as a small child; too bad that dusting urge didn't hold over to adulthood!) and seeing all of my cousins, aunts and uncles. Sometimes you just don't know how good you had it until much later in life.

No fiber work to speak of right now. Its crunch time with getting the parade set for Sunday, and I'm a bit behind on work. I might sit down tonight and spin a bit on my Joy wheel, with Halcyon's fleece. I'd rather be knitting, but because I still need my Addi Turbos in size 7 and 8, I can't do that. :)

All this yarn staring me in the face
Mood:  cool
Now Playing: "Heart of the Matter" by Don Henley

And I've yet to start a project. :)

Actually, that is the plan for today. Since my inspection this morning was canceled, I can finish up the one job I have, and then knit or spin for the day while my house is being cleaned (thank goodness for housecleaners!).

I suppose that I should start on the angora tank. That would be the best one to start on, although my fingers are itching to do a swatch up for the Icelandic barn sweater.

What I'd really love to do today is to take drive down to the Wool Connection in Avon, CT. But I think I'll skip that. Since gas prices are still high (even though we are now below $2 a gallon), I think I'll stick closer to home. Too bad that none of my LYS's carry Addi Turbos. That is what I really want.

I forgot to mention
Now Playing: "I Ran" by A Flock of Seagulls

That my wonderful husband also got then rest of the garden planted the other night when I was in a meeting (I had meetings on both Wednesday and Thursday night). All of the veggies are in, and doing great.

We just might have a Victory Garden yet (for those that remember the PBS series, and it was hosted by Jim Crockett).

A perfectly delightful day
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: "Ride Like the Wind" by Christopher Cross on AOL's Awesome 80's
We were up in Saxton's River, VT., today, at the Grafton Fibers Spin-In. There is nothing like a fiber event to leave someone energized and feeling like they can take on the fiber world.

Not only did I have a great day, just having fun, but I was finally able to meet some people that I've known online for many months (and in the case of one, a couple of years). I met Helen from the NETA list, who is a delightful woman. She has such a relaxed air about her, that just being in her presence allows one to feel very much at home with her, and I met Elaine (aka Wet) from the Sheep Thrills list. While I didn't really get a chance to talk too much to Elaine, she's such a cheerful person, that one knows that you would have fun hanging out with her.
I also made a purchase today; Lucas Fletcher from Ewephoric Icelandic Farm was there, and he had the most gorgeous bulky weight Icelandic yarn. I just had to buy two skeins in this pale grey. I'm eyeing this as a barn sweater for when the weather turns cooler. :)

I was able to chat today with Cath, Alice and Jeff, David and Kathy from the Merlin Tree, Marcy, Harry, Wendy (who will be taking one of Mia's babies home in September!), Ritu, Dan, and Linda and Tom. Tom even sang for us, and is an amazing guitar player. In fact, when Tom took Linda's newest sheep home, my husband went with him, and now has lathe envy (o.k., so he already had that, but now he really wants one). I'm glad Dale was able to meet Tom finally, I think that made his day being able to hang out with a couple of other guys.

I'm not sure what we'll do tomorrow. All I want to do tonight is kick back and relax. I have a pint of Bart's Cookies and Cream ice cream in the freezer, and I'll eat a bit of that, and go watch "Cops".

Record reading
Mood:  lyrical
Now Playing: "Too Hot" by Kool and the Gang on Summer Daze Radio AOL
I finished reading "The Shop on Blossom Street" this morning. It is a wonderful book, and I highly recommend it. The story takes place in Seattle, and starts at a new yarn shop called "A Good Yarn". Each chapter is about one of the four women that attend knitting class at the shop and how their lives evolve and change due to this knitting class.
If you are looking for a book to sit back and relax with this summer, I highly recommend this book.

Today I am going to try to register Twist with IAGARB. I'm not sure he'll pass the wool registration; we've had some incredibly hot days in the past month, and his fur isn't as long as I'd like. I have seen a good increase in his wool since I started him on Leslie's food (and for the record, only the purebred Germans are on this food, everyone else is on the Blue Seal feed). If he doesn't pass today, then we'll go for another registration, probably sometime in the late Fall.

I will be at Linda's spin-in tomorrow. I have lots of rovings to bring, along with one or two bunnies to sell. :)

It arrived!
Mood:  bright
Now Playing: "Vacation" by the GoGos
After saying this morning that I didn't have my copy of "Hot Knits" yet, it arrived in this morning's mail. I've already gone through it, and found 3 (yes three) tanks that I feel a need to knit. I think I will do the Cynthia top with the angora yarn, and save the Diana top for some cotton yarn.



I think I'll keep reading the book, ignoring the screeching coming from the family room. :) Actually, school vacation started today. And while the boys have been playing rather well together today, I'm foreseeing some trouble brewing later, so the sooner I finish my work, the sooner I can take the kids outside to play. That will help them burn off some energy, and let me sit back, and relax, reading either of my new books.

My next project
Mood:  bright
Now Playing: "All Summer Long" by the Beach Boys on Summer Daze Radio AOL
I've decided to start this, and join the Tank-A-Long. Since my "Hot Knits" book hasn't arrived yet, the angora shell will have to wait as I know exactly which top I want to knit out of the book using that wonderful angora yarn.

Anyway, here it is:



Plymouth Electra Yarn from the Italian Collection

Happy Birthday to me!
Mood:  celebratory
Now Playing: "Rio" by Duran Duran on Awesome 80's Radio AOL
Topic: Daily musings
Yes, today I turn 37. I'm not even sure my husband has remembered that today is my birthday, but my Mom already wished me a happy one, and my parents will be down tonight to have dinner with us (Chinese; I'm not cooking outside in the rain!). So, to treat myself today, I went over to Barnes and Noble and picked up three books. The first book is about pasta sauces; most are tomato based, which I can't eat, but I found a few in there that sound delicious, and have potential. The next book is a Martha Stewart book on meals for the seasons. While most people despise Martha, I've come around to enjoying her magazine and show. I used to be one of those people that couldn't stand to watch her, but after seeing her magazine, and really liking the recipes, I've changed my tune.
The last book I purchased is a hardcover (something I *never* do, since I'm cheap, and like softcover books), but this is a treat for myself. It's called "The Shop on Blossom Street" and is about several women that frequent a knitting store. Some members on the NETA list have been raving about it, so I decided to buy it. I'll give a review when I'm finished.

Yesterday, another box of roving from Wooly Knob showed up in the mail. I'm in awe of the skill of Matt and Jamie. All four fleeces in the box are stunning, including Halcyone's, which is slightly darker than last year's fleece, with more black in it, but still amazingly beautiful

I'm bringing several of these new rovings up to the Grafton Fibers Spin-In on Saturday to sell. Wait till you see them! The rest will go up on the webpage after the spin-in, if there are any left.

Who knew?
Mood:  chatty
Now Playing: Centerfield by John Fogerty on AOL's Summer Daze

That there were so many different kinds of day lillies? Yesterday, we did a lot of gardening. The great news is that our front gardens are nearly finished. They have been a work in progress for nearly 8 years since we moved here. I have two more lavender plants to buy (which I plan to get next Sunday at the Lavender Days festivals in Greenfield), and then it will be complete.

We started out our Father's Day by taking a trip to WalMart, and then heading to Andrew's Greenhouse and buying quite a few perennials. All flowers/veggies were on sale, since they were celebrating their 25th anniversary. So we picked up a hibiscus, some sedum plants, and veggie plants. We came home, and Dale got everything planted while I ran over to Hadley Garden Center, and bought a replacement honeysuckle (mine was hit by winterkill this year), and a jasmine plant. When I came home, we piled into the truck and went up to Deerfield to Pine Nook Day Lilies. The owner has over 160 varieties of day lilies for sale, and will dig them while you wait. We came home with 20 plants. One third of them went into the front flower beds, and the remaining plants went into the back bed, which used to be a rose garden. I dug all the roses up yesterday evening, Dale rototilled the garden, and I set about planting day lilies. Here is the finished garden (well, I don't have my woodchips down yet, but we finished up at 7:30 last night).


Day lilies in the early morning sun

I have some that will come up a ruby red color, others that will be cranberry colored, another that is cream colored with a purple center, and yet others that are various colors of pink and lavender. What I'm hoping I will get is a beautiful garden that is mostly maintenance free (this is why the roses didn't do so well). :) When I get my first day lily blooming, I'll post a picture. Several plants already had buds on them when we bought them.