Yipppeeeee!
Mood:  party time!
Now Playing: Peter Gabriel "Shock the Monkey"

This is too cool! I just got an e-mail from NHS&W that I'll be in building #2, space 13. I guess there was a last minute cancellation, and I was quick to answer if I wanted the space. It sure will beat having to set up a tent outside and vend. :)

Actual Knitting Content? No way! WAY!
Mood:  incredulous
Now Playing: Bryan Adams
Topic: Fiber
Last week this arrived:

Five pounds of millspun 85% angora/15% wool in a fingering weight yarn. This is from the IAGARB yarn co-op that has been set up for members.

So I grabbed a skein on Friday and set out to wash it to see what it would look like. And here is what I started working on last night:

Yes, I confess to going through two of my three Barbara Walker treasuries looking for lace patterns. Even picked a few out, but right now I just can't handling doing something that requires more than easy knitting, as I'm currently working three jobs, and I'm exhausted at the end of the day. Anyway, I want this to be finished in time for NHS&W so that I can wear it there (hey, I'll have washed skeins with me to sell, and people like to see exactly what you can do with the yarn). I might even dye it after I'm done knitting.

So, that is my goal; one finished triangular shawl in two weeks. I think I can do it.

AND (Drum roll please!), WEBS will be selling Bobbin Trees! So now they are carrying Bay Colony Farm's angora/wool blend batts, and the Original Bobbin Trees. (Helen doing the Happy Dance here!)

Today is finish the newsletter day, and prepare for a meeting later tonight, if I can't get my co-chair to move it to next week. If we move it, then I go to work tonight with DH and get more of those pieces ready to send out. I must get that done quickly, as I have 14 fleeces coming, and I have to process those before NHS&W too. :)

Oh yes, on the house front. I've finally picked out my flooring for the bathroom. This is my fifth attempt to find something (floors one and two were going to run me $1,200 and $1,900 respectively; for a 30 sq.ft. space? I think not. Floor three was only sold in 12 foot widths, and floor four was discontinued). It is a commercial grade flooring, currently made, and it looks nice with my "Colonial Cream" colored walls, and my Berber carpeting in the hallway. Once I get that ordered, it's 2 weeks until installation! Do I actually see a finished bathroom on the horizon?

Things I learned this weekend....
Now Playing: Tommy Tutone "867-5309/Jenny"
1. My husband's job is far more physical than I had imagined. While doing the incentive work, I found out just how much standing/walking/lifting is needed. After 4 hours on Saturday, I didn't feel too bad, but 7 hours on Sunday left me exhausted.

2. I learned how to drive a forklift yesterday and enjoyed it!

3. Small boys as just as happy riding bicycles around a large warehouse as they are riding them outside, especially when it has been raining for 2 days.

4. Baby bunnies at the age of three weeks start to do the cutest things, like sitting on their mother's back. And even if they pee on her, she doesn't seem to mind too much.

5. I have way too many projects going and not enough time. I'm beginning to wonder when I'll get the chance to start on any of my knitting projects.

I want to wish my youngest son a very Happy 4th Birthday! It's hard to believe that he is this old, as it seems like it was just yesterday that I was in the delivery room (thankfully, I'm not and those diaper days are over!).

Now off to get ready for the small family party with a wonderful ice cream cake from Mt. Tom's Homemade Ice Cream. If you get the chance to pop in to Jim's store, the ice cream is awesome! :)

A bit of fun relief from software hell
Mood:  crushed out
Now Playing: Toad the Wet Sproket "Walk On The Ocean"

Your Brain is 80.00% Female, 20.00% Male

Your brain leans female You think with your heart, not your head Sweet and considerate, you are a giver But you're tough enough not to let anyone take advantage of you!

Thanks to Linda from Grafton Fibers for this quiz.

Now back to software hell. I've been working on a new software program for typing up newsletters, and a computer person I'm not. I'm also not sure if I'll be posting more today or not; DH has a job for me to do over at his place of work which pays rather well (they call it "incentive work" and it pays per piece).

Those Spring chores
Mood:  chatty
Now Playing: Cutting Crew "(I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight"
Topic: Rabbits

O.k., I can't really say anything about the IAGARB meeting, as the minutes of the meeting have not been published to the general membership, but I can say that it was great and I'm really looking forward to the next one! :)

Yesterday, after Leslie and I completed some of the IAGARB business that needed immediate attention, Leslie left to go back to Canada, and I headed out to the bunny barn. I moved Mia's four babies out to the barn on Sunday, as they are now 2 weeks old, and getting to the point where they want to start exploring. Exploring in my office isn't a good idea, and Mia is doing a fine job of keeping them warm. She even pulled a bit more wool so that they would be cozy last night. However, I'm not quite sure just who's wool she is pulling. I noticed that the buck placed next to her has a rather large bald patch on his right rear quarters. I noticed this last week, and I suspect that she pulled a large quantity of his wool (he is such a sweetie, and just loves attention, so I'm wondering if he was letting her pull the wool through the cages just because he likes her?). Anyway, Mia has been doing a very good job of mothering, and is now more relaxed with her kids back in the cage. My check on them this morning at 6 a.m. revealed that they were covered with lots of beautiful warm angora wool.

With it being 70 degrees outside, I decided to do some barn cleaning. Each Spring, the barn needs a major cleaning. So yesterday, I hauled a lot of bunny poop and hay out to the garden. The really great thing about bunny manure is that is isn't a "hot" fertilizer, and can be put directly into the garden. However, I had several bales of hay that got wet this year, and since I couldn't feed them to the rabbits, those too went out into the garden. This weekend, I'm going to have a major bonfire out there, and burn it all. The ash is very good for the garden.

Today I'm also meeting a new bunny owner, who is buying Precious. Precious (if you remember) was the little doe that I saved from chill last May. She was almost 3 weeks old when I found her in the cage, with Mia laying up against her, trying to keep her warm. Well, Precious is going to a new home today, and I believe that the owner is going to be very good to her. It was a tough decision to sell Precious, but sometimes we just have to let go.

I forgot to show this
Mood:  energetic
Now Playing: Human League "Dont You Want Me?"

I meant to put this up on Friday. It is a picture of the bistro table I bought from Templeton Furniture, which is part of the Gardner Furniture Outlets. It is constructed out of a former wine barrel, made from oak. It smells wonderful!

And here is a picture of the wine stamp on the top.

Wise People
Mood:  caffeinated
Now Playing: America "You Can Do Magic"
I'm hoping this song is a good omen for today. I love starting my day with great music, and I turned on Radio AOL to find this playing. You can go months, even years without hearing certain songs, and now I get to hear this song twice within 3 days. I like that! :)

People come into our lives for different reasons. Some are there to make us stronger, and others are there to make us wiser. Leslie Samson is one of those people who does both. She is down this weekend for the annual IAGARB meeting we are holding today. I'm really looking forward to the meeting and we've been working very hard getting everything ready for it.

Anyway, Leslie is fascinating to listen to. She's very knowledgeable about so many things, and imparts wisdom during discussions. Yesterday, we talked about so many things, and each time, I came away feeling blessed that I have Leslie as a friend. Some people just have this way about them, and Leslie is one of them. Not to mention that she has a wicked sense of humor, and can make everyone laugh. :)

To top off a very interesting day, we went out to eat last night. If you are ready for a great dining experience, Hadley is now home to All Fired Up!, a Mongolian barbecue restaurant. For those that aren't familiar with Mongolian barbecue, the concept is rather simple, but lots of fun and a healthy way to eat. It is a buffet type of restaurant, where you put together your meal yourself, picking from various veggies and meats in bowls that are set out on ice. You fill a bowl with these items, hand it to the chefs and they cook the food in front of you, on a large round grill. All Fired Up! gives you a choice of approximately 10 different sauces to put onto your food if you choose. Last night, my first trip up included portabella mushrooms, pea pods, shrimp and scallops with a wonderful sweet and sour plum sauce. My second trip up (I was hungry, after eating just a bit of tofu for lunch) was chicken and steak, with water chestnuts, ginger and bamboo shoots in terriaki sauce. The only thing that detracts from this fabulous restaurant, is that the acoustics are quite loud, with sound echoing off of the walls, floor and ceiling (no carpeting to buffer the noise). Even with that, I will still go back. The atmosphere (colors on the walls, glasswear, etc.) is very electric, that is to say that colors are bold and bright; oranges mixed in with blues, bold reds and deep greens. It would be a Dyer's heaven with all those color combinations! I can now see why this restaurant has been so busy since opening back in December. Plus, they make a mean Caramel Apple Martini! ;-)

Today we'll be having lunch with Marcy, who is also a member of IAGARB and a good friend of mine. Marcy and Leslie always have fun things to talk about, so lunch should be interesting and quite fun.

Pictures!
Mood:  chatty
Now Playing: America "You Can Do Magic"
Topic: Fiber
I just love this song. I reminds me of sitting on the beach, in late August of 1982, with the warmth of the sun baking into my shoulders, little portable radio next to me, in my sandchair. Can you tell that I love the beach? :)

The latest picture of the babies; they are now 13 days old. Aren't they cute? And they have VERY sharp teeth too. I got nipped on the hand between two fingers on Wednesday. Not enough to draw blood, but enough to leave a dent in the skin for a few hours. I can't begin to imagine how it feels to Mia when they latch on to nurse, which will continue for another 3 weeks.

They have figured out that rubbing behind the ears feels really good, and their little heads will just relax and drop down while they nash their teeth in sheer pleasure.

And here is the yarn purchased over at Webs. I'm making the shell on the far right.

Addendum to the Great Fleece Race of April 12th
Mood:  mischievious
Now Playing: The Temptations "My Girl"
Topic: Fiber
Dick e-mailed me last night. I have a total of fourteen fleeces coming. Is that cool or what??? :-)

Blatent AD :)
Mood:  energetic
Now Playing: Talk Talk "Talk Talk"
Topic: Fiber
Why waste your precious spinning time looking for bobbins for your wheel when they could all be stored in one place, neatly, with no tangles, and more importantly, no damage to the bobbins? Introducing the Original Bobbin Trees and Bobbin Logs.

We have three different models for sale:
The first is a freestanding Bobbin Tree, which can hold 14 bobbins. It is made from Purpleheart and Curly Maple - $150.00

The second freestanding Bobbin Tree holds 12 bobbins, but the "tree" spins, allowing for easy access to all bobbins. This unit is made from Curly Maple and Rosewood - $175.00

The third is the Bobbin Log, which hangs on the wall, and can hold between 4 and 20 bobbins, depending on the wood type chosen, and the size; prices vary depending on the wood type and number of "branches".
We currently have two Logs in stock, both made from Zebrawood, and hold 4 bobbins each - $50.00

Original Bobbin Trees and Bobbin Logs have been designed to hold Ashford, Lendrum, Schacht and Louet Bobbins. Bobbin Trees can also be used as Lazy Kates!

Are you a WEAVER? We make Trees and Logs for weavers, which will hold twice as many bobbins. We'll have some to show within the next two weeks!

We can custom make these units to suit your needs and wants. With fiber fair season coming up, we'll be making many more Trees and Logs to sell at the various fiber fairs we'll be attending this Spring, so please check back often to see what will be listed as new on the website.