Tilt-a-whirl

Who We Used To Be

Ah, last night I was able to heal from The Day of The Ugly Cry (Oprah's term) at our daughter's house. She made such a fun evening of cheering for the Ducks (Going to the Rose Bowl!) turn into a medicinal healing time. I am forever grateful. Nothing like a little wine, yummy food and antics to bring a gal back to life. SHE is a great daughter. :o)

So, that being said, I decided to go through Mom's photo album from her beloved days with the SF Opera Company. I had to write her Obit yesterday and somehow forgot that she had been an early Merola Award winner, which was hugely prestigious in the Opera circles. Most of her pictures began in 1956 and were kind of blurry black and white snaps of people like Renatta Tibaldi when she sang Tosca. Mom was in her heyday and my parents were still married.

The first color photo is in 1959, a couple of years into her life as a single mother. She had done her own makeup according to the chart on the wall, down there in the bowels of the Opera House, AKA our home away from home. This is mom as one of the rabble in Carmen. Check out those requisite stage shoes. I just love the music of Carmen and I think that it is deep in my DNA.

Back in the day, before Los Angeles created an opera company of its own, the SF Opera Company used to put the whole shebang onto a train at the end of the season up here and send everybody and all of the paraphernalia down to the Shrine Auditorium. One year, before mom remarried (probably because she had nowhere to leave me) I had the privilege of going along for the ride, which was on the Milk Train, which seemed to stop and start all of the way down the coast. This was in 1960. We had a lot of fun with the whole gang of singers and musicians and got to go to Mexico and Disneyland and all of the great places. This was when mom actually enjoyed going somewhere.

This picture is of the two of us in 1960 and so I had to be just 10. I usually stood in the wings watching the operas (such a good little girl) and this time, her friends decided that for the mob scene in La Boheme, they could cobble together a costume for me out of bits and pieces of their costumes from other scenes. I got to be carried onstage by some big strong guy and had my first taste of the opera stage. It was magical and thrilling. I hope that there is some way for me to get in contact with some of the women and men who had so much fun back then. I'm sure that they missed the Happy Louise, too. I think that she really did love having me there.

Rod, who helped me with the digitizing of the photos, remarked about how much I grew in one year. Yeah, this is true. Here we are in 1961 in our costumes for Boris Gudonov. This was the year that I got to do so many bit parts as an extra. This one was for the big tableau with the Royal Family and all of the poor peasants. I remember standing way up on a platform on Stage Left, waving at the crowd. This photo was at the SF Opera House. She got me into the Supernumerary program that year. I remember the strange little man who herded the cats known as Supers. He had a life sized doll who was his little girl. Kind of creepy, now that I think of it but these were Show People. :o)

Gosh, I remember taking the bus from Oakland over to the City when Mom was already in rehearsal and getting myself to the Opera House after school. Who does that these days? No one, I imagine. The world is a different place, to be sure.

Here she is in a fabulous costume in what was probably one of the last season's in LA. This costume was for Die Fledermous. Notice the big crate of stuff behind her? This is how the show went on the road back then. She was so glamorous, wasn't she? This is how I am choosing to remember my mother.

 

We had a long haul and a lot of hard times. She was so unhappy for so many years and I can't put my finger on when it all happened but I am just so glad that this is all over. She can be where there is no unhappiness or pain...just love. This life was a struggle with some very exciting and wonderful times. She was so talented and her voice students loved her because she gave them so much advice as well as vocal help. I remember telling her that she was half counselor and these folks were getting quite the bargain in her. It broke my heart when she began failing and I know now that she had been quite ill for a long time. She hid her oncoming blindness and could not hide her body changing, which is why I think that she stayed away from the Opera crowd over the years. I am sorry for that because I think that down deep, she missed those people and that life. There was a savage chorus master who changed the whole feeling at the Opera House, making the veterans feel old and ugly. Mom stood up to it for a long time but in the end, quit.

It is ironic that she and I quit the "music business" the same year. I was getting "too old" at 30 to keep trying to be a Rock Star and at 55, she was feeling too old for the physical beating that her body took on that stage.

I wish that her final years had not been so unhappy. She just wanted to rest and my step-dad was worried about her, always thinking that she would go before him, even though he was 12 years her senior. He made me promise to take care of her and of course, I did. I did as long as I could and then I got help from others, at the end. She and I came to an understanding, I think. There was one day, before her stroke, when she looked at Rod and me in a sad way. She said that she had been waking up in the night, worried about how she had treated people and that she was so sorry for being the way that she was. That was a huge gift. I told her that I forgave her and that all of those that she thinks that she needed forgiveness from were already on the Other Side, waiting to love her.

When I got one particular note yesterday, about the phone call being from Mom, I of course thought about it later that morning and felt this rip in my heart, worrying that I had NOT been a good enough daughter to her. I was alone in the dye room and just began sobbing. I had to get it all out and say out loud, "I forgive you and I know that you did the best that you could". It was cathartic but wore me right out. I thought for sure that I was going to get sick and then...we cut to scene one of this essay. I took a HOT shower, dressed and put on make-up, took Happy Holly in my pocket to my daughter's house, showing up in my light-up silly Christmas Hat.

It is going to be just fine. Bye bye, Mama, bye bye. I love you.

Thank you

So much kindness. I am overwhelmed and keep crying today. I think that I was in shock or something, last night, when I was almost giddy. I am tired of this grief and thought that I would sail right through today. Ha ha on me...no such luck.
 You have all allowed me to feel like there is a family out there. We only children can take it all on and all in like brave spirits but sometimes there is a breaking point. I hope to have some fun tonight, cheering on the Oregon Ducks with my beautiful daughter, handsome future son-in-law and well, The Schnickle. I might cry but I hope that I laugh a lot more.
 Thank you all.

Mom's Graduation Day

For those of you who have been following the saga, my mother passed from this earth tonight. It has been a long struggle for her, since her terrible stroke in February and for the past week she has been doing very poorly. It was weird because early this morning, at 3:30 AM, we had a one ring call, short enough to wake us but not long enough to register on the caller ID. This morning, I referred to it as the Fire Drill. I guess that it WAS the Fire Drill because just a little while ago, I got the call that Mom had gone.

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers through this journey. It is a relief to know that she is done with the suffering.

It was a lovely Early Thanksgiving

I had the best time yesterday, which would only have been better if the WHOLE Souza clan were here! The locals are heading to a lovely vacation while the Schnickle visits his other grandparents with his dad this coming week and so I was grateful to be able to do The Meal with all of the trimmings, in a relaxed and fun manner. Rod made his Famous Mashed Potatoes (actually whipped in the Kitchen-Aid) that he was been doing since he was a kid and they were to die for. He and Lauren got busy channeling Baba Souza with the best gravy yet and so the little guy at the end of the table was just stuffing food down his gullet like a champ. He came with the announcement that he was going to eat 10 turkeys and 3 cakes. He did have two helpings of turkey, mashed potatoes and his special bowl of raspberries. Somehow he had room for a cornflake cookie and a big piece of cake. Holy COW! His belly felt like a ripe watermelon by the end of the day. It is a good thing that the exciting Oregon/Arizona football game had him jumping for joy with his Mama, who is a Duck Alum. He worked off a LITTLE of the feast.

I mentioned the cookies. My grandmother found the recipe in a magazine or on a cornflake box when I was a little girl in the 50's and used to make them for me every time that we drove up to Roseville from Oakland. I haven't made them in YEARS but dusted off my memory and had to wing the time and temp because I could not find the official recipe. It is as follows, for those of you who would like to try it. (If you do not have Pam, I suggest that you buy it for easy cookie removal) You can thank me later. :o)

Ingredients:

6 cups of cornflakes

1 can of Sweetened Condensed Milk (I used the non-fat this time)

1 package of really good chocolate chips (my favorites are Guittard)

Oven at 350. Spray the cookie sheets. Mix the ingredients until the milk coats everything. Make cookie sized mounds on the sheets, making sure to corral any runaway flakes or chips. Bake for about 6 minutes or until the edges get a nice brown and the cookies hold together. The timing on removal from the cookie sheet is actually the key. Not too early and not too cool so that they are pliable but not falling apart. Cool them on a rack. You will swear that there are more ingredients but that is it.

We got to talk to Erik for awhile for our unofficial holiday and Lauren got to hear about the special honor that he and Vicki are going to receive. I am over-the-moon proud of my Connecticut family because they have worked SO hard in their first year of officially being a business. Victoria Souza Photography has been chosen as one of the top 5 wedding photographers in their region by the folks at The Knot.com. Kudos!  So much hard work but the professionalism and talent came together in a great package. Hip Hop Hooray! We got to see their set-up, when we visited Connecticut for Stitches East and now, after their last wedding, the day after the official Thanksgiving, they can look forward to a little time off before it all starts again. Sounds familiar... Anyway, they are coming west for some R&R over the Christmas Holiday time. Having met the extended Savarese family on our visit, I know that THEIR Thanksgiving will be a far cry from our little one. I envy the big family hoopla but Tank decided to make me think that I had the hooptidoo of a house full of kids running around, simply by barking his brain out all day, wishing that he could be in the midst of it all. Got to love families, whether human or canine. :o)

Oh, we added a new family member, thanks to Rod. He decided that my dream of a robot to clean my house was do-able and so we copied our friends, Sheila & Michael and got our very own Roomba. Oh my. I LOVE this little thing and "he" was so very entertaining for the Schnickle last night. That little guy followed the little vacuuming robot all around the house as he went under the furniture and searched for any crumbs. I have not yet let "him" loose on the dog side of the house and will continue to run the Anaconda (this place has that 9 mile hose that plugs into the wall) to pick up dog hair but perhaps, the Roomba will just get to go do his thing over there as well. Tank mashes himself up against Sasha, there on the other side of the dog gate, watching as the little disk tries to get some of their dragged in dirt from this side of the gate. Perhaps he will get used to it enough to just get out of the way. Any bets?

It is hard to believe that Rod and I will be celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary next month. We did not have a big wedding, back in the day. My mom was not going to have any part of it and so we got to borrow a friend's fancy car and head down to Monterey with our best friends to get married by a judge and then go have lunch in Carmel before driving back up to Oakland. Rod's mother was kind enough to give us a little bitty wedding cake and a glass of champagne before we headed off to the airport for our kid honeymoon in Disneyland. The ironic thing is that my friend/witness Martha's sister had gotten married the day before and was also honeymooning in Orange County! Kids. They said that it would never last but both couples are still hanging in there.

For the last two 5 year increments, we have taken trips to celebrate but this time, things just got away from us. It has been such a difficult year and with the business, well it just did not get planned. I thought that it was funny that our horoscope (both Libra) said that we still need to take some time off...hah, when you Live Above The Store and in this economy, that won't really be happening. :o) Our last trip was to New Zealand. We got to visit the Poad's at Majacraft and some friends who lived in Auckland at the time but have since relocated to the Hawke's Bay area. We visited with another one of Rod's internet friends on the South Island and were treated to a fabulous day of sight seeing, as well as a private tour of a big wool mill. Until we moved here, I would have said that if there was anywhere in the world that I would like to move to, it was New Zealand. I felt so at home and at peace there. I just wish that it was not at the end of a horrifyingly long plane ride but perhaps that is what makes that country so unspoiled.

I am now a Majacraft dealer and since our visit, the younger Poad's have married and brought their brides into the family business, allowing mom & dad to travel as ambassadors for the company that they have turned into a world class business. Once again, the entrepreneurial spirit continues. Perhaps if Lexi Boeger and I can get ourselves together and figure out some sort of fiber hooptidoo around here, The Poad's can visit both of us within a 10 minute drive. It would be perfect since we both have a strong affiliation with the Majacraft wheels and those lovely folks.

Time to see how cold it really is outside. I think that it would be good to venture out to the Waffle Shop. I want another gander at all of the beautiful Christmas Trees put up by individuals along Placerville's main stretch of Highway 50. This is the first year that we are experiencing it since we moved here (the highway construction project made it impossible) and it is SO wonderful to see. Each tree is unique and uniquely decorated and they will all be lit on Friday evening when we have the Festival of Lights downtown. I'll be there with my silly light-up hat!

cold & clear today, emphasis on the cold.

We have had quite a few cold mornings lately and with the thermometer reading 39F at almost 10AM, I think that we might be In For It, this winter. Needless to say, before writing more than a couple of words, I found that I needed to go back to the house, fire up the little red Bodhum tea kettle and get some of Harney's Cinnamon spice tea into a mug, to both warm my hands and my other senses. Delicious.

Rod just moved something over from the main garage to a perch in here. I am happy to see this happening because it appears that he is finally inspired enough to begin work in earnest on transforming that three car garage over there into a real train layout. I think that the sudden death of our friend Russ Simpson (model builder for Hollywood as well as the model railroad business) has hammered home the reality that if you wait for the perfect time, it will never come. Witness my mother's huge fabric collection, saved for when she retired from teaching music, only to lose her eyesight. Now I am making a wish that he finds some buddies to come help him with the project, just as he did for our dear friend Bill.

So, the addition of Lorrie to my workshop has been quite a wonderful thing, allowing me the ability to push out product when I need to and then to have some quiet time to do my homework and get creative again. There is something to be said for success of colors and yarns, by the way that I dye them over and over and over again for so many wonderful people but then again, I was reminded that I have needed some creative bursts. So be it.

With the weather being so CRISP, after photographing the swatch and ball of the newest yarn, I just shoved that swatch against my face and wanted to leave it there until Spring. Seriously. This yarn is just SO up my own knitting alley that I may have a hard time sharing, when the box shows up. It is an eight ply, bouncy and ridiculously soft. I made a swatch with two sized needles and think that I actually like the part that was knitted on the size 9 US/5.25mm. It comes in at 4.2 stitches per inch, which is a good Aran weight, in my estimation. Ahhhhh, I just had to put it up to my face again...I am better now. :o)

Here is the glam shot of the yarn that I am calling Lush. The put-up is 2 ounces/100 yards for $29. I will send up a flare when I have it and can begin the alchemy.

So I mentioned some private dye days. I was staring at my new favorite mug and had this interpretation in something that I call Salt Marsh. I LOVE this colorway, big time.

So thennnnnnnn, I got hungry. Being a native Californian, I have eaten a lot of avocado's in my years on the planet and when put a photo came in front of my face, I went off on a tangent. This series should be called Everything But the Pit.

Sock Merino in Fresh Avocado.

Sock in Guacamole.

Sock in Fuerte.

I also added some really beautiful and deep colors in Violet and a blue/violet that I call Regal Blue.

There are some new handspun yarns up on the site. This one is THE most dreamy stuff. It is an uber soft Baby Alpaca from a saddle that I washed and then plopped into a BIG pot, adding the fixings for Plumdinger. I spun this yarn up when I was sitting in the sun up in Canby Oregon, this past September for OFFF. I finally figure out how to photograph it in the truest light. It was just refusing to show itself in the manner befitting such a yummy bit of yarn. Did I say that it is soft? Spun from the locks for a textured look.

I know that I have been quiet about mom for quite some time. It is because there is absolutely nothing to report, other than she is living and is being so very well taken care of by April and the other angels at Placerville Pines. Every time that I go to see her, she is asleep. They tell me that she is taken out to the day room for meals, a couple of times a day, which is encouraging, meaning that she gets to have some kind of stimulation.

I finally unpacked a box the other day, one that she had packed by herself, when we were getting things ready for her move. At the bottom, under all of the old Christmas wrap and other odds and ends was her jewelry box. I found it kind of touching. After Lauren and the Schnickle moved out, I did not do much in that room that had been the bedroom for mom and then the little guy. The box was just In The Closet. These were all of the things that I used to look at, when I was a little girl...the pins and coins and precious things from my grandmother's era. Here they all were, not lost, after all. I looked at each piece, turning them in my fingers and remembered who my mother used to be and how she had lovingly kept these in her bureau nestled in cotton. Here they were again. Things but things with a connection, to her and my grandmother. Now I am the grandmother and the Keeper of The Things. Bittersweet but the circle of life and times.

Now I must take my cold fingers and immerse them into some warm water, getting back to Work. Carry on!

P. S. Marsh Green

Books- Atlas Shrugged And Then Some

I really like Audible.com and have become hooked on getting the Classics and other giant tomes in this form because when I am alone in the dye room, I can create and "read", all at the same time. I could always do several things at once, as long as I was not required to talk, too. :o)

I had a marathon going on the iPod in the player because I had decided that now was the time to listen to Atlas Shrugged. I had always thought that this was a piece that I should read in the old sense of the word but if I gave over my eyes and hands to such a task, I would feel like a scholar, instead of a learner; tied to the physicality of reading. I chose to do the precious download (when you live by satellite, as we do here in this place, you treasure your band-width) a couple of months ago and set to listening to this amazing piece of work. Some people might call it a Piece of Work but I took it for what it was, a philosophical work by a radical thinker, who was highly influenced by her times, in the days of the Red Scare. Her cadence and verbiage sounded, when read aloud, much like something from the 1930's and I had to remind myself that this was published in 1957, when I was a little girl, a little girl who learned to Duck and Cover.

  I found it interesting that this book was being usurped by the radical right. I had it in my queue because I had always wanted to read it and finding that it was on the reading list recommended by someone like Ann Coulter, whose behavior and brashness makes my skin crawl (is she for real or just another far right shock jock?) made me feel that I might seem to be influenced instead of finding the book at the precise moment that it needed to be listened to. When I started it, we were in the thick of this economic morass and I kept seeing the spooky parallel between Then and Now. A man in our town had plastered signs around our "urban" and rural neighborhoods about a Call to Meetin' that he had organized, in late September. I was sure that it was going to be one of those ridiculous shouting matches spurred on by the Tea Bag movement. I refused to be a part of an event that was going to be about angry mobs instead of an exchange of ideas. It turned out to be on weekend that we spent in Canby at OFFF, so I had to find out about it in our local small town paper (The Mountain Democrat), when we returned. I actually thought that it was going to be a rant fest by people who listen to the radical right media, known as Talk Radio. I was wrong about that. This event was put together by the guy who owns the Mountain Mail and he was trying to wake people up about calling politicians to task for being in the pocket of big business. Politicians on BOTH side of the "aisle". As an Independent, I can agree with that. What I can't agree with is rhetoric and mean spirited shouting festivals. The folks who attended the event with the hope of it turning into one of the orchestrated Town Hall Shout-a-thon's were sorely disappointed, according to the reporter. Hmmm, someone who had something to say about people EDUCATING themselves and seeing all sides of the sphere. Wait, WHAT? Where was the yelling? You want to be sensible???

 The reason that I brought this up is because of what I had seen on the leaflets that the organizer  sent out. He actually had a reading list and on the reading list was Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. Before I heard about Who, What and Where I was totally appalled because the radical right was using this book for propaganda, (much like a certain OTHER best selling book...ahem...The Bible.) or so I surmised. This man only wanted to educate a lot of people who DO NOT READ BOOKS and for that, I commend him. Ann Coulter, on the other hand (and her ilk) has been holding this book up as some sort of literal horror story to scare the masses. It is a piece of fiction with a lot of philosophy as well as insight into what COULD happen IF ALL ELSE FAILED. It is a piece of work that had to have had an amazing amount of shock value when it was first released (if one could get through the enormity of its size) and has remained a modern classic. I am happy to have finished it with the help of a great reader and Rand's story gave me lots of great discussion fodder with Rod, who would hear snips of it when working at the skein winder. He thought that it was going to be about railroads and kept thinking that he could critique it for the failure of accuracy in this vein, because he is a train buff. Yes, there are trains and railroads but this is almost a work of science/industrial fiction, if you get my drift. I will be happy to discuss the book but only with someone who has read or heard the unabridged version. No rants over snips. This is my point with the Bible or Atlas Shrugged. I take these works as parables written by clever and observant humans, that can be used to teach a person how to Be A Good Human. The literal meanings of such works can be argued over and analyzed but in the end, what you get from them is what YOU get from them. You are meant to stretch your Aha muscle and THINK.

Many people can see themselves in this book, whether they like what they see or not. I have come from a long line of entrepreneurial people, who worked for themselves and created art or products/services. I see myself. I see my father, who has bumped up against society forever with his unusual ideas. I see my husband who was a part of the corporate world, while earning the money that has kept our future safe while supporting and finally becoming a part of the world of the entrepreneur that balanced our lives. I see people who have been caught in the downward spiral and while understanding the tough love of someone like Ronald Reagan, who loathed poor people, know that we still can't expect everyone in our society to just pull themselves up by their bootstraps, if they have no boots or the hands to pull with.

I listened to this work with visible nodding and audible "Hah" moments and also with a lot of eye rolling. This is what should happen and why I worry about a work of this magnitude that becomes a shield for the very people who are the villains in this piece. The VILLAINS with the radio program and the loudspeakers. Wake up, people. Read the book if you want to and see it for what it is; a thought provoking giant of modern literature. If you let someone tell you that it is Real or Now or anything other than what it is, you are lost, as were the human cogs in the book.

I certainly did not intend to write a rant but well, it just came out. Atlas Shrugged just does this to people, if they get it. 

Now I am enjoying the physicality of reading the last Stoney Calhoun novel, written by the late William Tapley, called Dark Tiger. It was given to me by his loving wife, Vicki Stiefel, who is also a murder mystery writer and the author of the book that we have collaborated on. Dark Tiger is a Great Read and has relaxed my brain as a comfortable work of fiction does. I expect the writer to paint me a picture and make me the fly on the wall. I am having a hard time putting it down and read half of it on the plane home from Hartford. Thank you, Vicki. It is a bittersweet thing, this book finished while Bill was getting sick again but it is a wonderful that he did finish it and that you introduced me to his voice. 

Have I told you lately how much I love books. Now that I have corrected my astigmatism and have the option of audiobooks, I can bathe in the words...pour them over my head, if I like. Thank you sir, may I have another?

What I Did With My October

I got a year older, that is one thing. Next year is a milestone birthday and so for the meantime I am going to like staying this age. It is hard to fathom being what I used to consider as OLD, let alone living it. I am telling you...I am going to squeeze the most out of life and thank the universe for all of my wonderful friends and family. There is a lot to do before I even consider retiring, that is fo'sho'.

We spent my birthday up in the thick of it, in Apple Hill and enjoyed every bit of the fun. It is a lot more fun when you have young people and especially VERY young people to share it with. Mama and the Schnickle helped us pick out pumpkins from the spot where you put money in the Honesty Box. I love that stuff and I especially liked the funky pumpkin that was just my style...weird.

Mr Orange and his favorite lady in his favorite colored environment.

We got the most out of this day, watching people fish in the pond with the jumping, million dollar trout and of course having our Big As Your Head apple fritters, which were the highlight of Uncle Erik's gastronomic journey, last year. Mr Schnickle actually decided to have The Little Mermaid painted on his cheek. I love a kid who branches out from monsters and trucks, don't you? This was SERIOUS business.

 

October marked the month that I decided that it would be a GOOD MOVE to hire on my hairdresser to become my assistant, here in the studio. I have never really been comfortable with having someone at my elbow in the dye room but this setup has allowed me enough room to try it. I have been very lucky to find Lorrie and add her to the family. She has become my second pair of hands, anticipating my moves and allowing me to do so much more. In the past, it would have been hard for me to recuperate after a show but we were able to turn and burn enough to get the stock dyed and ready for shipment to Connecticut for Stitches East. Yes, you see, I have been quiet because I have been super busy with work. That is a good thing.

We got the stock boxed and ready to go to the Fed-Ex Kinko's to head to Hartford and then it was dye to order time until we heard the alarm at 3 am on the 20th...O'Dark Thirty, to you. Brutal but necessary to get the old bodies to the Sacramento airport, which is an hour from us. The flight to Atlanta was ok but the flight north in the smaller plane was so interesting. We came up the coast and got to see the lay of the land that we knew nothing about. What an amazing coastline with the skinny strip of beach and tidal areas behind it, there on the Jersey shore. Thank goodness for the cool pilot who told us what we were seeing.

Hartford is Insurance Town, USA but the new convention center is quite marvelous. I must say that the move-in and subsequent set-up was so much easier with the Teamster Free Zone. (no offense to those of you of the horse driving set but all of those Rules and Regs and Breaks and BS are too much for this old gal.) Our son Erik, who lives about an hour south, was good enough to drive up the display that we had sent to his house. What a HUGE help. HUGE.

We took Erik to lunch and then came back to settle in for the first day of set-up with the new display. I was beginning to really worry that I had made a mistake because it took me SO long to figure out how to portion out the many many many colors and yarns and was scared that I would not have room for everything. It was a LOT faster for Mr. Souza but for me, it was agony. Once I got past Sock and Sock Merino, I realized that I had NOT made a mistake and that the display was going to be very good for me, allowing my colors to finally be seen in their best display. We had done a dress rehearsal at OFFF but the big 10x20 booth that is normal for us was the key. Lights and all. It really worked. Here are two shots of how we finally looked. (when Erik and Vicki came, they were able to get the wide angle pro shots but our snaps will have to do for now...in two parts.)

It is a work in progress but the color makes me ever so happy.

Speaking of color...our time in Connecticut, post show, was a blur of brilliant color that peaked for us before the Tuesday rain that greeted our drive down to NYC. Yeah, we actually took a couple of extra days (!) to hang out with Erik and Vicki, the wonderful and famous Connecticut Wedding Photographers. They actually took a couple of days to come out to play with us, which was so wonderful. Here they are at their local pumpkin patch area, much like our Apple Hill.

They have had a remarkably successful year as a team and have had so many happy couples thrilled with the captured memories of their special day. Did I say that I am very impressed and so very proud of these two talented people. Yeah, once of twice. :o)

Here is a great color shot of some pastel gourds that knocked me out.

Yes, and a box of nonsense...the most wacky gourds I have ever seen.

Father and son.

Our last day of the trip east was spent on a rainy dash to NYC. Of course the traffic on I-95 had other ideas and so three hours later and two hours late for the ferry to Liberty Island, we were aboard said ferry with half of the International Community. It has been about 48 years since I have visited and it was a first for Rod, so we got the full chills when visiting Lady Liberty and Ellis Island. (Rod's family has the youngest history as US citizens, only third generation for him and so he was duly in awe of Ellis Island.)

Here she is, our lady.

The building that saw the beginning of Baba Elinka's journey from Yugoslavia with two small children in tow. Courage that would have daunted me but made it possible for that half of the family to be American. Pretty special and a good reminder when complaining about newcomers. No complaints from me...we all had someone come over, unless we were native American and I have a little of that in me from my dad's side of the family. Good American Mutt, that's me.

We finished got back to Battery Park and then took a cab ride to Mid-town and a late lunch at the 2nd Ave Deli. Oh my. Giant delicious food, without the attitude. Begin with a plate of pickles and end with a tiny chocolate soda. Perfect and just what I hoped for. We hoofed it up to Time's Square, stopping by the Library and inspecting the ice rink going in nearby. We bought the requisite hot nuts and stood like idiots looking at the LIGHTS which were just overwhelming for this gal who now lives in the sticks. I saw where I wanted to return to, which was the theater district and after I bought some treats for folks back home, we hopped into a cab to bring us back to the garage that cost ONE MILLLLLLLLION dollars to house the car for a bit. It was all worth it.

So, you see, we squeezed the bejeebers out of our birthday month. Now we are home and settling in for the cooler months and winter. It has been quite the ride this year.

Oh, one last thing...I am going to be adding some affordable luxury to the line-up very soon. A new Crack Dealer/er/yarn importer showed me some amazing 8 ply 100% cashmere that I decided I could not live without. It is a worsted to aran weight and boy is it fabulous. I am going to have a bit of yarn from those lovable Yak People from Colorado. I have fallen in love with a couple of their blends and hope to have some to dye very soon. The samples that I played with are incredible in how they have accepted color.

Alright, that is all for now. November begins in the morning. Onward and upward.

Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival

A fine time was had by all, to my estimation. It was our second year at OFFF, in Canby, Oregon and once again, the weather could not have been more beautiful. I choose to have a booth on the lawn because it reminds me of all of my years doing craft fairs in Berkeley and Santa Monica and evokes good memories. Just look at that sky.

We set up on Friday, as early as we could. The aroma from the lamb barbeque booth was just too much, right around noon and I succumbed to the call of the lamb sammich. Weird, I know but you just have to get over it. (Rod found the lamb sausage sammich wonderful enough to have two days in a row.)

This year we are trying something new, for us, going for the grid wall and hook thing, which does not necessarily hold as MUCH yarn but displays the yarn in a much better manner for everyone's viewing pleasure. I was hiding my colors in bins and that had to stop. This was the trial run and of course took me a LOT longer to set up than I thought, simply because of all of the fussing. Speaking of fussing, my neighbor to the rear was a spinner who creates vest kits and has about 1 200th of the stock that I carry with me. The woman kept coming around the corner giving me crap about not being set up yet. WTF? I finally told her to (with a smile) Shut UHHHHHHHHHP. Seriously, there must have been 10 to 12 visits and for someone that likes to take her time getting a booth ready in two days, this stuff was enough to make my blood boil. :o) I think that it turned out well, considering that this is HALF of the normal booth space at shows these days.  (better to have a booth that will allow for zipping it all up at night, ya know?)

We had lovely visits with Jen and Tammy as well as Sam & Lo, having the pleasure of a prolonged dinner with lots of conversation. These women all know one another and hang out so I just asked lots and lots and lots of questions because *I* didn't know everything that had been happening with them. :o)

A very wonderful surprise happened when I was sitting out on the grass spinning. A little tap on the shoulder and here is the adorable Sivia Harding. Hugs hugs hugs and more hugs. I put those extra hugs into my pocket for later, Sivia! There was also a lot of hugging with Ms BMFA herself, er, I mean Herself...Ms Tina. We found that we have more in common than arty farty yarn, having both been singers in our earlier years. What a hoot, as my Midwestern friends like to say.

Let's just say that we had a wonderful time. Here is picture of Rod in the booth. You are just used to seeing him sans hat...

One more bit of eye candy. This stuff, when spun, went home with Ms Tina. She has good taste and I was more than flattered. This is/was part of a baby alpaca saddle. So delicious and the last thing that I spun up before leaving for Oregon.

One last thing and the reason that I actually have a brain cell that is allowing me to do this short of a blog...I have hired my first El Dorado County assistant. Yup, Lorie has come to work with me and the funny thing is that she has been cutting my hair for a year and a half...she can dye hair and she can dye yarn. It is a good match and I finally have the second pair of hands that I have been wishing for. Happy happy happy.

You Just Have to Hang Loose

You know, I really haven't felt like doing much posting lately because when you have MORE of the SAME nonsense going on, people get tired of hearing about it. I was getting tired just thinking about it.

I can at least update the status of things for those of you who knew Mom/Louise and fill you in on her latest excitement.

I guess that it has been a little over a week since I got the call from The Home about mom bleeding where the sun never shines. We had this Do Not Transport and No Antibiotics thing in place and then came a TEST. I passed, the first night. Hold steady and observe her, say I, shakily. A day goes by and nothing. Then, on the second day I get a call from her regular nurse, April. Mom's bleeding and there is a scary amount of blood...do you want to transport her? I hem and haw and hem and haw. I finally made it easy on myself and let them take her to Marshall. She had no bleed when she was there but they suspected that it was a diverticulum that had ruptured, taking a small blood vessel with it, hence the BLOOD. It all stopped but she was transported down to Kaiser to be sure. At this point I could just know that the woman in the bed, although able to answer questions, when asked, was not generating any conversation on her part and so, did not connect with me, whether I was there or at home. I got the call from Kaiser and that doctor surmised the same thing and we came to the conclusion that any tests that involved massive glop down a feeding tube and then a scope would do more harm than good at this point.

She was brought back to the home the next day and I was actually able to talk to the Elder Care Physician's Assistant and we re-iterated the No antibiotics, No IV fluids, No feeding tubes, No resuscitation and the rest of it. I can never see straight when I must say these wishes of Mom's out loud. I can be really strong until someone is NICE to me and then I choke up. We got through it, with Dan and Rod helping me to remember what to check and sign. She is comfortable and dopey. That is all.

Now for a brief interlude for your viewing pleasure.

Handspun cashmere/merino in a greyed Olive Tones.

 

Silk/merino in leaf Pile.

 

Cashmere/merino Jungle.

 

Yes, they are new handspun yarns and have siblings. Available on the site.

So, I hope those of you who live in the US had a lovely long weekend. We certainly saw a passel of you driving Up The Hill toward the mountains with all of your trailers and boats and what-not's tied to the roofs of your vehicles.

Now, I am going to tie on my big firehose Duluth apron and get busy in the dye room. Life goes on and the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival is right around the corner.

No matter what, these days, you just have to hang loose...

The Roar of the Beasts

When your local police group throws a party, it is hard not to go, you know? We did it last year, as fairly new residents of the town and took a little guy, not yet three. When I asked the 3 1/2 year old if he wanted to go to this year's Smash & Crash he said...wait for it...YAYYYYYYYYYY! Of course then he promptly yelled into the phone that we had to make sure to put stuff in our ears because it was going to be LOUD. Yessireebob.

I hear that the cars used for Destruction Derby's are getting to be harder to find these days and once they go from pristine to crumpled tissue, I can see why. The newer cars would not stand a chance, with their plastic and such.

Yes, today was the 36th annual Hangtown Police and Firemen Destruction Derby, all for fun and charity. Seriously, it was so much noisy and rowdy fun that I would not want to miss it. I put on my cowgirl hat and bundled the family off to the fairgrounds for what is just too much of a good thing.

Notice the earplugs...

Here is the parade of Pristine Cars, whether seriously pristine or just sort of ironed and chained together to LOOK that way.

 

I especially liked the Family Guy station wagon, it lost the Beauty Contest, which meant that the driver did NOT have to go face down in a mud puddle.

 

The heats begin with vehicles roaring backward into each other, trying to knock out motors and stay alive themselves. The one in the center with the Pink wheels was a rockin' woman cop from the East Bay Parks Department. She kicked butt.

 

This is my favorite kind of stuff. It's like hockey without the missing teeth.

 

Survive it all and you are $1000 richer with your muddy compatriots left to cart away their wrecks. What a great way to hoot and holler and wreck stuff for charity. Don't you wish that you were here? Cops, gotta love 'em. I am just all tuckered out from all of that smashing and crashing. Thanks for the fun!