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This week has seemed slower, yet busier, how can this be? Perhaps I’m stuck in some kind of jello bath. No it’s just my new trappings, addictions if you will.

Teh Ravelrys. NOW I KNOW WHY I’VE STAYED AWAY FOR SO LONG. I’m weak my friends, a weak, weak human. Come be silly with me, yes? It all started innocently enough, with me searching for other Oregonians who share my passions. Now, I’m adding projects, and patterns. (Speaking of patterns, go admire Brenda’s Morning coffee toqueS!) Here is where I would jump up and down screaming that no-one warned me. But, I WAS warned. I saw it happen to many of you as well. I only have myself to blame on this one. And dayum, it sucks when that happens.

Next up on the addictions… MASHAM. I fully blame Beth. She sent no warning.

I couldn’t help myself. I spun and spun and spun. I think it is more dreamy than Leif Garrison  Garret (Whoops! I was listening to “Lake Wobegon Days”! HA! thanks Beth.) was in the 70s. I made some two ply first, then I came to the conclusion that it is an Ideal fiber for a single.

100 % Ideal
It is long enough to be nice and sturdy & keeping it as a single preserves some of it’s softness. It’s going to make me a nice something or other.

Some more of this weeks trappings… More post cards!

There has been some work:

Just a taste of the 5 or so pounds of (SOFT!) Australian blend that should go up tomorrow.

And believe it or not, there has even been a wee bit of knitting!

Just a wee bit. As they are totally just creeping along.

And this my friends is what happens when I try to sum up the week in one single blog post. humph.

XO!

The shop has been updated!

Hand painted sock yarn colorways have been restocked 
and the rest of the Masham has made it in!
(and there is that handy dandy new Dye me a river button!) 

Go get em while the gettin is good.

XO!

It is hard to fathom that we approaching our two month anniversary in this house & as Oregonians. It is starting to feel a bit like home, the mess assures me that it is in fact our home. The other side of that coin, it still does not feel like home. The studio is far from put together, we have pretty much no furniture, the kitchen remains a mentally ill color of orange, and I still do not know my way around very well.

The intense heat still gets to me. This past weekend was BAD. From oh, Thursday until Sunday we had temps in the 100s. I was a walking zombie. I was seriously a useless human being. (And, even when the heat broke I was useless, more on that later) The heat broke with some storms my friends. Back east, this would be no problem. More rain… Here it means lightning. On Sunday, there were upwards of 180 fires here in Central Orgun. 3 of which were near my house. The closest one was a wee one and contained that evening. But the one that worries me, is the Snow Creek Complex. It sent thick smoke into our hood. We found ourselves wandering the streets, like everyone else in the hood wondering where it was. The smoke really made it difficult to see, let alone try to breathe. My throat closed up but good & is still very irritated. Being a n00b here, it took me about 3 hours to find out where the fire actually was, and when I did, that made me feel no better. Alas, being a n00b means I worry about a 350 acre fire that is 10 miles away; whilst everyone else goes about their evening. I was up most of the night fretting, and once I finally fell asleep; KABOOM. One of the loudest storms I’ve ever heard in my life rolled in.

SO, yesterday…. zombieness as well..

(Slowly) Moving on, I was tagged by The [lovely] WoolDaisy for a meme. But, I’m not tagging anyone, because, hey! That seems like pressure. Today, here, we are pressure free!
The rules: Are posted at the beginning. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answers.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

Childless. Living in Burlington, Vermont. Hanging out with Gretchen’s brother & drinking heavily.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today- not in any particular order?

Drink coffee and write post cards

Entertain the kidlets

Dye, dye and dye

Go to the post office

4. Places I’ve lived:

Delaware, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California, Oregon, Maryland, Florida, Vermont. (and in my van down by the river)
5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

Become a philanthropist.

6. What are some jobs you’ve had:

Waitress, cook, chef, seamstress, social worker, importer and distributer of hemp, writer, teacher, glass blower, and whatever it is that I do now.

And I guess I should go do that whatever it is thing…

XO!

When Beth said Masham, I thought, “Yes, I liked mashed but, that is more of a winter type comfort food thing. This time of year I prefer roasted with fresh rosemary.”

Then she said something with the words “you” “wool” “dye”

So, I did my homework, and discovered that it is a sturdy dual breed; yet surprisingly soft, especially for a longwool.
It is a cross between a Teeswaters and Swaledales or Dalesbreed.

Okay.
So she sent some.
Then it got here.
So, I dyed it…. (because, apparently, what Beth wants, Beth gets.)
THEN it dried!
Then I spun it….

I do believe I love it. I do not say that lightly folks. It takes dye like a dream (almost like mohair.) And spins up easy like Sunday morning.

There is some over in my shop now, and the rest is headed over to Beth’s shop, The Spinning loft.

Thank you Beth for your crusade for the longwools, you have another convert!

I’ve done a ton of dyeing this week. Hence my quiet on the blog. All of your Free Tibet preorders are done, and the rest go out today. Plus, I’ve done about 40 hanks for the shop.

Nearly all of the colorways are restocked, some new ones added AND…. THE BIG NEWS! I’ve finally listened to you. I added a preorder button.
I know, I should have done it years ago. Better late than never?

The week has really zoomed by. Since I last wrote, we took a trip to Crater Lake

Where it really really is THAT BLUE.

Had 106 fires sparked by lightning. (BIG thanks to WoolDaisy for holding my hand during that spooky time! Maybe I’ll be used to the fire planes by the end of the summer?)

& We had a lovely visit yesterday from Annaberry & her beau (Sorry Ann if I’m being presumptuous, ya’ll seemed like a pair to me.) Wherein Symeon displayed terrible hostessing skills and let her social ineptness hang all out. Perhaps, one day she will learn how to be around people in 3d.

It is supposed to be another hot one today. Maybe 100, so, I should try to get something or other done around here before I get oppressed by the heat.

XO!

In another time’s forgotten space
your eyes looked from your mother’s face,
wildflower seed on sand and stone
may the four winds blow you safely home.

Roll away the dew, roll away the dew
Roll away the dew, roll away the dew

I’ll tell you where the four winds dwell,
In Franklin’s tower there hangs a bell,
It can ring — turn night to day
It can ring like fire when you lose your way.

Roll away the dew, roll away the dew
Roll away the dew, roll away the dew

God save the child that rings that bell,
It may have one good ring, baby you can’t tell,
One watch by night, one watch by day
If you get confused listen to the music play

Some come to laugh their past away
Some come to make it just one more day;
Whichever way your pleasure tends
If you plant ice, you’re gonna harvest wind

Roll away the dew, roll away the dew
Roll away the dew, roll away the dew

In Franklin’s tower the four winds sleep,
Like four lean hounds the lighthouse keep,
Wildflower seeds in the sand and wind
May the four winds blow you home again

Roll away the dew, roll away the dew
Roll away the dew, you better roll away the dew
Roll away the dew, you better roll away the dew –roll away!
Roll away the dew, you better roll away the dew –roll away!
Roll away the dew, roll away the dew –roll away!
Roll away the dew, roll away the dew

~Mr. Robert Hunter

If you get confused listen to the music play

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.
~HHDL

To mark the start of the Beijing Olympics, with my heart full, I started my morning with coffee, incense and dyeing a big batch of FREE TIBET!

I do believe I took dyeing this yarn perhaps a bit too seriously. As if the freedom of the Tibetan people depended on the validity of my symbolic protest. I’m unable to be there in the flesh to express my feelings. But I am at peace with that, because as I look around I see people doing what they can, in the ways they know how. So, that is what I did.

And, when Bev ordered her yarn, she said “HEY! Let’s have a contest to raise awareness!” Urging other knit bloggers to do what they are good at (Knitting and Blogging!) to do what they can, how they can & where they can. I thought that was a wonderful idea. It’s like a big interconnected prayer. All of us utilizing our hearts & talents to stand in solidarity with our Tibetan kin. From our hearts, to theirs “You are not forgotten. I am not free until you are free.”

If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them
~HHDL

One World
One Dream
FREE TIBET!

At least once a week I have to explain this fact to someone. It is shocking for most, since when one thinks of the Pacific North West, you think rain… I hear things like “Now, where exactly are you? Arizona?” ~ No, no no.. We are in fact, in Oregon. Just in what is called the High Desert. That is because it is high (our house is about 4k and change in elevation) and dry. Coming from Vermont, the land of snow and rain, relatively speaking. One of the hardest things to adjust to is the constant dry… Believe it or not, blue skies all the time can wear a body out.

So, when I awoke this morning to cloudy skies and the faint rumble of thunder (fingers crossed for NO lightning) it was a special treat! More over, it actually rained (well, it was more like a spritz) for about three whole minutes!

Thank you Jessie, Kate, Norma, and Sarah! I knew if I asked you all, one of you was bound to send it along. Oh how I love me some Vermonster wimmen folk.

And now to the color segment of this blog post. In Roy G Biv style…

This weeks dyeing! Yup, the shop was updated! With oodles and oodles of handpaints (including some brand spankin new colorways!) And since it was among one of the first to go this morning, I will be taking orders this week for Free Tibet!

I hope all is well in your worlds & you are getting just the right amount of sunshine or rain!

I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.
~HHDL

Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.
~HHDL

There has been something that has been on my mind and in my heart a lot as of late (and if you have been here long enough, you may know that I bring it up from time to time; all while trying not to be too preachy about it.) And perhaps, it has been on your mind as well, with the Beijing Olympics drawing near. The situation for Tibetan freedom hasn’t improved. I did hold out hope that with the eyes of the world on China at this point in time; a change could be set in motion. The protests, the displays of outrage and sorrow… Hopefully China would feel some sense of remorse and shame for it’s cultural genocide.. That the Chinese government would be held accountable for it’s actions… That thought and prayer still remains with me, and will forever be within my heart until all of my brothers and sisters are free. For I am not free until they are.
I’m always one who lets my current mood be expressed in my art and craft. (I’m actually compelled to do so; unable to stop myself.. a gift or a curse, who knows) And as a prayer, I created “Free Tibet”

Intentionally designed after Tibetan Prayer flags

With every stitch knit, a prayer of compassion will be sent to the Heavens.

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
~HHDL

On the knitting front, Project Two Tabs is inching along.

I’m having oodles of fun marking the progress, (being held accountable!) over on the Ravelry. Even have having been there since the get-go; until now I’ve avoided it, as I’ve seen many a friend get LOST for months on end in all the fun (and, I’ve succumbed.)

We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.
~HHDL