Do you remember the day?

I am talking about the day that you got your first tricycle? I never had the privilege of owning such a thing, growing up in a place where the streets were too narrow or whatever the excuse was that allowed my mother to deny me such a pleasure. I got some of that pleasure back in spades yesterday when the little kid sidled up to his Retro Red Radio Flyer. He turned his back on it at first, being totally overwhelmed with the idea of it. He kept turning around for a quick glance and then back around he went. We finally stopped staring at him and he walked around and around it, not daring to touch this thing. I came back in here, in the office, where I could look out into the driveway. Hmmm, what's that? Could it be? He touched the tassels and a HUGE grin pulled in my favorite dimple on his cheek. SCORE! Grampy found the kid in himself as well.

Somehow, I think that Rod became a kid again at that very moment. What do you think?

It is a good thing that these guys got to have these moments outside yesterday, before the air quality people gave another red alert day. This is just crazy. In all of my long life in California, this is the longest that I remember days like this, choking on smoke. My heart goes out to all who are living on top of this stuff and have already lost their homes. The heroic firefighters just keep going and going and going and I just do not know how they handle the pounds of particulates that are hanging in the air. Our local Starbucks (yes, I admit that I LIKE THEIR COFFEE) had a red wagon piled high with donations of coffee destined for the firefighters up north of us. We taught the Schnickle about how important it is to give our thanks and so a couple of bags of coffee went on the pile yesterday. THANK YOU to all of the men and women on the fire lines. We who live in the forests blow you kisses.

I have been doing a lot of spinning lately but these skeins have had requests that prompted them. I had that really really big project using the magnificent Ultrafine merino in Petroglyph. I can't believe that I spun over 2000 yards of two ply yarn but there you have it. We'll see how much of it goes to live with Betty and how much will then be up for grabs so stay tuned on the website.

I also did a fun project using the new Blue Faced Leicester in Aww-tum. This is an 8 ounce skein, using two "littermates" from the first dye run I did with this colorway on fiber. I think that it is just on fire. Sue has first dibs! and has just taken it.

Rod and I were on our own on the fourth and so I decided to take a real day off, which meant that I did not come in here at all to check email and take care of orders. I know...SHOCK! We decided to take the hybrid out on a day trip and so we headed up and away from town on Newtown Road, headed past the staging area of the Pleasant Valley parade (you know, the kind with kids in wagons) and on up Sly Park Road toward Pollock Pines. We hung a right at the beautiful reservoir lake and drove onto the surprising and almost deserted Mormon Emigrant Trail (hey Alison...how many of your relatives rattled along this road before it became a fantastic paved road?) and on up to about 7500 feet to a point where the native trees at this altitude and particular area are what looked like Noble Fir or Silvertip...you know, MY kind of Christmas tree. I know, this place is just right up there. Who knew? We got on to highway 88 and headed east to travel through the mountains and some more than spectacular vistas of firs and bare granite. The smoke was at bay here and so the day was one of open windows and deep breaths. Once we got down into the Carson Valley, we marvelled at the beauty of the place and then hung a left and went up and over the Kingsbury Grade, which is a magnificent mountain road that takes up past Heavenly and down into the east end of South Shore. I'm telling you, this is a beautiful and magical place we live in.

We headed up highway 50 and went all of the way to the really really funky old old old goldrush/silverrush town of Virginia City because Rod wanted to check out the steam train that runs there. Of course we drove smack dab into the midst of an old fashioned home town parade and so we vowed to come back another day, when we would have the privilege of wandering these streets and taking a ride on this wonderful train.

Now I am back at work and readying things for another group of folks heading up tomorrow. It will be cool and lovely inside the studio. Not to worry. I want to see spinning wheels whirring, people!

Comments

[Kerry]

I'm surprised those yarns are going home with someone else when I can hear them calling my name, plain as day!

Sounds like you had a great 4th!

[Holly]

I do remember my first trike. I use to ride it out into the cow pasture when it was time for the cows to come in for milking. Think how nasty the wheels must have gotten! I don't remember riding it in the house!

[Laurie]

Gads, your spinning is enviable. I remember my training wheels bike, but not a trike.

[AlisonH]

I have an ornate antique table, in my oh-so-plain-lines-modern Californian house, that I inherited from my grandparents: it was made in the early days of Virginia City. (My grandmother loved antiques.) I can just picture the wheeler-dealering that might have been going on on its surface back in the day.

My ancestors stopped in Utah, Lisa, till my grandparents moved to Carson City NV.

[Terry]

Gawd! the yarn is gorgeous, what wonderful spinning you've done. I could almost see the Schnickle's reaction - the slow check it out phase, the finally get on it phase and the utter joy of really pedaling. So cool! It was awhile ago, but my son did something similar :)

[Carol]

My sister and I had 2 trikes. A green one and a red one. The red one was the best because it had a little platform just lieek the one on yours here and you could give people rides!