Dogs and Laughter

Chill

I am at home now for a three-day weekend to start tomorrow, in celebration of the independence of my country.  I love my country, both sides of my family came to this country in the last few generations, seeking a better life.  I am a major fan of the Constitution, of civil liberties, of voting.  I am often saddened (I was heartbroken in the aftermath of the last two elections) by the way our government currently is not apparently about independence and a better life for citizens... our health care system(s) are problematic and millions of citizens cannot afford to have health care, to be healthy; massive corporations hold most of the ear(s) of our politicians (and I am still supporting the overturning of the Supreme Court assumption that corporations have the same rights as individuals under the 14th Amendment ...for a wiki, go here); and we are currently involved in an illegal war under an administration that has demonstrated utter contempt for the Constitution, which the President swore to uphold and protect. 

But I think, I hope, we can recover our liberties and freedoms, and try to be a better citizen of the world in the future.

In celebration of the three-day weekend, the holiday, and in part just to unwind, I have been listening to:

I have read one of his books, and loved it.  Listening to him speak is even better, with his great voice.  It's a good counterpart to cubeville life.

While I tried to get a photo, someone wanted attention.

She's worse than a cat on a keyboard, seriously.  But what a sweet face... and hot dogbreath.

And finally, a photo of the project I've been working on....

This is the "Short-Sleeved Cardigan" from Fitted Knits.  I'm using Ecological Wool (and the red is Eco Wool, for those of us who are lazy with our gauge!) and US size 8 needles throughout.  I finally managed to get the body done correctly and bound off, and just picked up the right arm last night.  After seeing a few colorful sweaters on Ravelry, including bluegarter's sweater, a lovely creation.  (If you're not on The Big R, you can also look here.)  I think it's such a lovely creation, pretty, comfy, unique, flattering. 

I don't think I'll be hitting all of those adjectives with this sweater, but I'm trying to incorporate more color and combinations into my knitting (and wardrobe in general). 

I have a few smaller projects sitting on the needles as well - a few socks, a beret (another Raisin!) - but I'm thinking of Fylingdales right now (non-Rav image here)... I seem to be a bit drawn to sweaters.  OK, VERY drawn to sweaters!  Sweaters and socks.  They are like the comfort foods of the knitting world, I think.  One is like a big dinner with lasagna and Greek salad and wine and bread... the other like a delicious muffin or bagel, all chewy goodness. 

I think it's time for dinner.  For those of you who are citizens or residents of the USA, enjoy the weekend!  I love fireworks and picnics and reflecting on our heritage (the good, the bad, the everything!), I'm looking forward to it. 

A little jumpstart

I've been seeing this "meme" (darn you, Dawkins!) around on blogs for a bit, and I can now consider myself tagged after visiting Fig and Plum's blog.  So....

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?

I was ending my first year of graduate school, studying animal development and communication.  I was, around this time, spending 3-4 hours a day in outdoor aviaries, watching birds through binoculars and taking copious notes by hand while trying not to sweat all of my fluids and electrolytes out.  I got a bit of heatstroke at one point.  The afternoons were spent recovering my brain, rehydrating, entering data into computers, and eating watermelon.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?

1. grocery shopping after work
2. drop off rent check at propery management office after work
3. do laundry
4. go to Power yoga class
5. mail electric bill after getting to work

Of course, the big unspoken there is "go to work". 

3) Snacks I enjoy:

Popcorn (a bit of butter, salt required), baked potato chips, part of a Clif Bar (a whole bar or multiple bars = meal), a cup of tea if that counts, whole wheat toast with cottage cheese on top (actually multiple grain/cheese combinations), edamame, seaweed salad

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire (in no particular order):

Give my parents a whopping chunk of money to pay off all their bills, take whatever vacations they wanted, and invest as they see fit.

Give my sister a whopping chunk of money to do likewise.  She is so frugal, however, I don't know if she'd go nuts and actually buy expensive things for herself, or just invest shrewdly and live in another 3rd-floor-walkup.  But whatever she wants! 

Give my aunts and uncles also whopping sums of money so they can have the freedom to do more of what they want, and not have to worry about "the unexpected" as much.

Pay off my student loans.  Buy a house in cash and set up a fence so the dogs could run around freely and enjoy themselves every day.  Buy another home up in Northern New England to visit in the summers.  Travel all over the place, see parts of the world I've read about but didn't think I would be able to visit in person.

Pay off E's student loans.  Give him a chunk of money to spend as he liked - possibly by taking lots of trips together. 

Set up funds/endowments for Brown U. and for my favorite charities. 

5) Places I have lived:

Different towns (2) in Massachusetts

Providence, R.I.

Monkey Mia, Western Australia

Bloomington, IN

Baltimore, MD

6) Jobs I have had:

Secretarial/clerical assistant (several different offices in summer jobs during high school)

receptionist/secretary

research assistant (bats)

Bookseller at a big chain bookstore

teaching assistant

research assistant (birds, then rodents)

teacher (undergrad level classes)

regulatory affairs professional

Y'all are tagged now - let me know if you post!

Sunday evening

It's once again a Sunday evening, and as usual, I'm thinking that having three-day weekends would be a lovely idea.  I'd be so well rested!  I might actually clean more of the apartment!  Ah well.  I've had a pretty relaxing time of it, and I am slowly (slooooowly) shedding my guilt about lazy weekends.  Lanes was recently posting about feeling guilty for all kinds of ridiculous things, and I have that tendency, oh yessirreebob I do.  (How does one spell that expression anyways?) 

On Friday afternoon I hustled down to D.C. to meet up with E and some of his friends to hear Jazz in the Sculpture Gardens... very nice, very relaxing, and then it poured down with rain.  We persevered for some time, with a huddle of umbrellas over us and the blanket and bags, but eventually gave up and walked soggily to the Metro, to head to Dupont Circle and find a restaurant.  After dinner my stomach started hurting - I ate a lot more than usual that day - and we headed back on the Metro, taking a few friends to their places on the drive home. 

Saturday was spent with a friend who's husband asked her to absent herself during the day so he could have some alone time... we ate burritos and gelato and went shopping for her.  We emerged tired and triumphant a bit later after finding a summery suit and blouse for her to wear to a Big Deal Meeting later this summer.  Hooray!  I acquired a tank top (go layers), a bra (one that actually fits well), and a tote bag (kind of ugly, but $10) to use as a gym bag.  E and I opted out of going out to a movie, and instead watched ridiculous pranks on YouTube, and I did a Sudoku puzzle (I find that they cleanse the mind like a sniff of coffee to the nose, or a piece of bread to the palate) (schwa-schwa) and unwound.  Started to watch a Poirot mystery, and fell asleep. 

Tonight: finish Poirot mystery, tidy up.  I vacuumed previously, but may have to vacuum again: we have "dog-bunnies" (a version of dust-bunnies that are composed entirely of Maddie's fur) that were mostly taken care of, but a few hardy outliers persist. 

Also, I may get the energy to rip back the backwards bottom edge I knitted for my sweater WIP (photos at some point, really) and knit it properly.

Oh, and we saw "Wanted" today as a matinee.  Entertaining movie.  I'm glad we opted for that rather than The Hulk, as some of the reviews for that were pretty scathing.  If you're looking for a dose of adrenaline, ridiculous (but cool) stunts, and some machismo (but not the horribly annoying variety), check out "Wanted". 

Tidbit

My reaction to this: amused, then horrified, then amused again. 

Blargh blargh honk honk

If the subject title of this post sounds like nonsense (which it is), I recommend watching the entire 5-season set of "Red vs. Blue", put out by the folks at Rooster Teeth.  (I feel like I should have a "Shameless Commerce" section like The Car Talk Guys talk about, now.) 

Anywhoodle, I have been slightly MIA lately, as we are working towards a big, looming deadline at work, and as other departments miss their deadlines (on which we rely to get information from them), we are getting pushed up against a wall, so to speak.  So I've brought work home with me some of last week and all of the evenings this week.  I've had to temporarily give up dance classes, as well as a tiny shred of my equimanity.  I have rationed out a bit of therapeutic knitting to myself each evening, although last night it was therapeutic spinning for a few minutes. 

So, still here, but a bit focused on work.  If I thought I could get away with it, I'd make a crack about bringing in the Benjamins, yo, but I can't, so I'll just let that one slide. 

Weekends

After being a "professional student" for most of my life, having a weekend off, really off, it's-just-fine-that-I'm-not-working off, is still something I savor.  This weekend I had plans, especially for Saturday, including going to a hafla and then to a baseball game in the evening.  Plans were changed by the weather (stormy, thunder and lightning at times), and I had a slow, relaxing day yesterday.  Today looks to be the same, and so I have this time to putter about and do such scintillating things as... take out the trash and do the dishes.  But I'm perfectly happy to have the time to putter about so.  I guess I am a putterer sometimes.

We did have an outing yesterday - I took the dogs with me to go to the pet supply store, and to the grocery store.  Miss Maddie managed to not get carsick until we were pulling in to the parking lot of the pet supply store - and then she threw up in the backseat.  Then we headed over to the grocery store, where I dashed through getting a few items so I wouldn't have to leave the dogs in the car for long.  We made it back home, windows down, dogs panting (but, I think, enjoying the cow and horse and new hay smells along the way), and then into the apartment, where they plopped down in air-conditioned comfort.  They seem to be happier when they can go with us, even on little errands - they are part of the action!

Today, the action has been indoors so far.

Incas at his post, looking out the back window, sniffing through the screen door.  He really is always on watch.

Miss Maddie FINALLY was allowed up on her beloved couch today, after I tidied up and was no longer sitting there with books and knitting.

Speaking of books, I purchased a book spoken very highly of by Sarah:

I love this kind of stuff.  Only a few pages in, but enjoying it very much.  Makes me think of some other books I've read that I thought were pretty remarkable, such as Fast Food Nation (by Eric Schlosser) and Guns, Germs and Steel (by Jared Diamond).

I also cast on for a new project, not one that I expected, but so far I'm enjoying that, too.  I'm using Cascade Ecological Wool in a natural brown color, and this yarn is wonderful.  Mmmmm.

Yarny goodness for all

Hello all!  I am destashing a bit on Ravelry, but if you don't have a Rav account, don't fear!  I'm destashing here as well.  If you are interested in something, leave a comment and remember to enter your e-mail in the e-mail field so I can get back to you about the deets.  These are for sale or, if you prefer, we can work out a trade.  I've had these yarns for months and months now (tucked away inside plastic ziptop bags), and they should be made into something!

Lot #1:  Seven balls (or "hanks") of Cascade 220 Superwash, Grey. 
All the same color and dyelot, very soft, knits up smoothly and superwash-y.

Asking $52, shipping within continental US included. 

Lot #2: Seven hanks (or balls) of Cascade 220 Superwash, red.
All the same color and dyelot, very soft, knits up smoothly and superwash-y.

Asking $52, shipping within continental US included. 

Lot #3:  Ten skeins of Colorado Knitaly, a worsted-weight superwash wool, similar to Cascade 220, perhaps feels a hair more slender in the hand, similar put-up (roughly 210 yards per 100g).

Photo taken with a bit of a flash, the yarn is a warm rust-ish color, with a bit of variegation but not much.

Asking $60, includes shipping within continental US.

Lot #4: Debbie Bliss Merino DK.  14 balls of this stuff, very pretty color, also superwash.

People love it.  I think it's nice yarn, but have been watching it sit in my stash for too long now.

Asking $70 for the lot (shipping in continental US included). 

In summary: all superwash, shipping within continental US included, feel free to offer a trade, or make your best offer!  I'd like to see these yarns used and made into wearable things, not languishing in my stash.  All have been stored in plastic ziptop bags and in a drawer or closet, away from the dogs. 

MSWF, Part 3(a)

I was a bit spent after all the uploading of photos in the last Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival posting, but there were a few animals I did not want to neglect.  I also do not want to neglect the nice people I met too, so I will be posting again, later, with more information on some of the folks I met.

More Scottish Blackface sheep, for Rebecca.

Alpaca alpaca.

A stunning-looking shorn llama, taking a break on Sunday afternoon.  (His person said he was pretty worn out.)  I'm sure he has a terribly dignified name like Ludwig or Amadeus or Guildenstern, but I probably would have named him Freckles if he was my llama.  I think he may be glad he isn't, for just that reason.  Maybe he's a Roger. 

Whatever his name is, he is very striking-looking.

This is the nice young lady who owns the Black Welch Mountain Sheep I was admiring so.  She had her ram out for the Parade of Breeds. 

You can see the comparatively small size of the breed here.  And the ram is pretty chill with just being held by the horns. 

The young man with her offered to take my photo with the ram (I was fiber-geeking out), and I brought a muffin top for the photo! 
He is beautiful. 

I also appreciated the Inquisitive Sheep Action that went on sometimes in the barns...

And, especially by Sunday afternoon, the sleepy sheepies.  This one was just blinking and looked almost asleep.  It was very peaceful, and I was getting ready to get in there and curl up with the sheep for a wooly nap. 

To everything, spin, spin, spin

I'm not sure if anyone reading this post title will immediately think of the Byrds or not, but, um, that's what I was thinking in my head.  For just a moment. 

I was talking with runningtree the other night, as is my wont, and she mentioned that I seem to be sliding down the somewhat slippery slope that some knitters and other textile enthusiasts find themselves on.  That is: knitting is fun,  I enjoy the tactile process, I know about my different fibers, I have a stockpile of yarn for emergencies or whatever... ooh, look, spinning... there's an idea... why don't I just get that much closer to the sheep and make my own yarn?  (There is even more of a progression towards eventually owning your own sheep, scouring the wool, etc., but I'm not near that yet.)

As an astute reader may have noticed, I picked up my first spindle at the MSWF this past month - a Bosworth midi, a pretty drop spindle in purpleheart wood.  Since most of the spinning time I get is some evenings, these will be photos with a flash.

I've been spinning up the Shetland roving I purchased, and it has been a learning experience for me. 

So a few nights ago I was just fixated on spinning along, and then I wanted to know - what would this yarn look like when properly plied up?

So, with the help of an empty toilet paper roll (which I'm discovering are very popular with the handspinners for just this kind of reason) I wound off about half of my single-ply efforts onto the tube, picked a good guess spot in the middle of the long thread, and began plying.

It wasn't always pretty, and I found some very unpleasant nubby spots (hi, I'm not drafting properly), but I was still proud of my first yarn attempts.

(Please ignore the paint spots on my pants.)  There's my two-ply Shetland in its variegated quality glory!

Extreme close-up of one part of the mini-skein that I liked quite a bit.  Pretty even, and a nice aran-weight yarn.  This is the kind of stuff I would love to knit with.

I completely respect (and maybe even fear) the spinners who make 45 wpi (wraps per inch) yarn, hardly even gossamer-weight, and then knit up confections of shawls, wraps, scarves... but I am a less patient knitter, probably a much slower knitter, and I am most interested in trying to make different items - hats, socks, sweaters, that kind of thing. 

So I think I will keep on trying with my Bossie midi, and see about getting a maxi to help get this 2-ply aran-weight yarn dream as well.

Egads.  Spindle collecting.  runningtree, there's another milestone.  But my yarn stash (out of the tubs) still weighs less than... I do.  Aha!

MSWF, Part 3: Animals Are the Stars

So!  My (perhaps) final post about the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, which is about the stars of the festival, the animals.  Many were fiber-bearing, some were not.  All were amazing to be able to see, ask questions about, and sometimes pet.

So, photos!

Border Leicesters.  As with many breeds, I love the natural rich colors. 

More Border Leicesters.  So pretty.  From Cape House Farm.

Very nice people, gorgeous and sweet sheep.

Scottish Blackface sheep, I believe.  This one had ridiculously long, amazing wool. 

Rambouillets.

Shetlands.  I am quite partial to the smaller, "craggier" breeds.  Also due to getting to know Shetlands individually at Sheep Street, and scratching rams' chins. 

Clun Forest sheep: an ewe and her lambs.  Some of the breeds had great informative items posted... 

Clun Forest close-up!

Scottish Blackface

Jacob sheep.  Just look at those amazing horns!  (He's got four, yes.)  I believe that this was the livestock pen that had a polite sign up on not sticking hands through into the pen, which stated, "Ram uses horns" or something very similar.  Short, sweet, to the point!

Young Jacob sheep.  Adorable.

Cheviot sheep. 

Suffolk sheep.

One of my very favorites:  the Black Welsh Mountain Sheep. 

I spoke with one woman for a while about them... and if I had the land, I would have purchased their small flock that was for sale.  Independent, canny, and that beautiful wool.  Not soft or velvety, but I love the dark chocolate color. 

An inquisitive and very sweet Polled Dorset sheep.  Look at that nose!

A small, sleepy pile of Tunis sheep.

Texel sheep, which I'd not heard of before. 

A blurry Katahdin sheep shot.  A hairy (rather than wooly) breed of sheep. 

California Reds, another new-to-me breed. 

Close-up!

St. Croix sheep, another hair breed.  I was so impressed with these sheep - big, cream-colored, calm, lovely. 

Wensleydales.  Look at those locks!  Mmmmm.  Also sheep that seemed quite mellow.

Hampshires, in their little coats to protect their fleeces. 

A Cotswold sheep, checking things out from under those stylish bangs (or "fringe").

The non-eating end of a Leicester Longwool.  And a black Leicester Longwool shaking it off.

I'm not sure - but beautiful sheep.  Dang.

More Lincolns.

Karakuls. 

Romney sheep.  Big! 

Coopworth ewe and lambs. 

Southdown sheep, just chillin'.  Chillin' in the hay.

Icelandic ewe and her two adorable lambs.  And an Icelandic ram. 

Are you still with me?  Because I also watched the sheepdog demonstrations, and they were wonderful.

One of the dogs (there were four Border Collies there with the couple who were doing the demo) getting the sheep moving gently.

Then the sheep come to a halt.

There is a standoff.  I was impressed by both the sheeps' what-do-you-think-you're-doing turning around, and by the dog's refusal to back down or be intimidated by these big animals.

Eventually they get moving again.

It was a great demo, and although it may have not been so much fun for the sheep, the demonstration was held several times a day, and the ring was surrounded by people, fascinated, every time I was there.

And, lest I forget... the Angora rabbits.  These were French angora rabbits that a vendor had with her in her tent.  Mellow bunnies.

Whew.  I know there was probably more, but this is all I can do for now!