Cold and colds. Drat.

A cold and gray Sunday.  We've had a mixture of snow, sleet, rain.
Both mother, and DH, have nasty colds.  I've washed my hands so much they are red.
Here's what I know.
You can flush the toilet with your elbow, turn the faucet off with your elbow, and hide a towel in the shower so no one else can use it.
But that doesn't mean you are going to avoid getting it.
I'm hopeful though.
I better go wash my hands again.

Had lunch with a friend, it was a great day for hot soup and good conversation.

Tomato and white bean soup.

Warm cinnamon bread with sliced Granny Smith apples and melted cheese.

YUMMO.

 

There is someone who dislikes this weather even more than I do.

It interrupts his walking schedule.

It sucks.

 

Right, Roy???

 

 

You just have to amuse yourself on days like this.  And that is something that I have always been quite good at doing.

Maybe I'll have some Vitamin C.

 

I actually took a nap on the couch today, with Roy.  We fell sound asleep.

Then I sat in front of the fireplace and finished this bag I have been weaving on.

I had a little warp in a bag, that I wound before my surgery, so I put that on the loom.

It's ready to be woven.

 

 

 It is hard to keep images of tragedy out of your mind.  I am so sad, I don't really know what to say.
We can talk about guns, and God, and the effects of too much media.
But nothing will bring back the lives that were lost.  And nothing will make us forget it.
I am trying to convince myself of all the good in the world.
I am concentrating on that.
All of this convinces me that what I have thought about religion all my life, and my affinity to deism, is right after all.  At least for me, it fits.
I think I will read Thomas Paine's "The Age of Reason", one more time.
It's the only thing that makes any sense.

Tomorrow night is the giveaway.......and Tuesday is silent, in respect

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Update and a giveaway.

I was sure you would want an update.

After a day or two of weighing all the information, this little one has her forever home.

Angie, my seamstress extraordinaire, just happened to be wanting a kitten.

So now, Bella, has the best possible scenario.  She is the only animal in the house, with a Mom, and a Dad, and two kids to spoil her rotten.

Here she is lounging on some socks Angie was working into a Socketbook.

What is it with cats and socks??

L and I have been doing photo shoots this week......Prime Mate monkeys, and Socketbooks.

Then last night, I spent hours putting them on my web site.

So now there are lots to choose from.

Which is good, because my Christmas giveaway, is a monkey, or a Socketbook, your choice.

All you have to do to win, is be a follower, and comment.

If you would, I would like to hear what ideas you have for Crazy as a Loom for 2013.   What would you like to see going on?  What would you like to hear about?

Besides my headache.

Ha!  That was with tongue in cheek.

First of all, my headache is so dull I could almost get used to it.

Secondly,  my troubles pale.  You know what I mean.

I can hardly complain.

Today I finished my towel warp....the crazy red and black.

 I'll post some towel pictures tomorrow.  The last of them are in the washer as we speak.

My next towel warp is being put on sectionally.  So I needed to find enough spools to do that.

Unfortunately, most of them still had thread on them.

 

What to do, what to do.
I didn't want to waste all that thread, so I decided to pull my spool rack up to the warping board.

 

 Holding three threads at a time, I wound three separate "mystery warps".
They are safely stored in plastic bags.

 

 I think this is my favorite one.   I can't wait to get it on the loom and play.

Here is my next warp, I am putting 25 yards on, for dishtowels.

What do you think?

Is it bright enough?

Winner of the giveaway will be drawn randomly on Monday night 12/17/12.  This way it will ship on Tuesday and get to the winner in time for Christmas.

Make sure you give me a way to contact you.

 

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A tree and a kitty. Really.

Just wanted to show you what my daughter did in my granddaughter's bedroom.  Is this too cute, or what?

I think I want one in my living room.

With branches that stretch across my living room ceiling.

 

Same daughter found this little one, wandering around in a parking lot.

Eight weeks old, 1.9 lbs.

Here she is at the vet's, getting treated for all the myriad things that feral cats deal with.

She is actually very healthy, but a little undernourished.

 

She is quite the little love.

And NO, she is not coming home with me.

That's why Enough's name is ENOUGH.

Besides, Miss Puss says NO.

 

This little girl has fire in her eyes.

Now we just have to find her a good home.

"What, did you say HOME?"

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Let's hear it.

Tammy, open your eyes, please.  That's what a model does, you know, smiles for the camera.

I finally got three shawls done.

Here they are.

Mobius shawl  #1, in purples and blues.

No, the model does not threaten the photographer and order her to crop your head off.

What, the sun is  in your eyes??

I guess I could have put some sun glasses on you.

Mobius shawl #2  blue/purple

Finally, eyes open, and smiling, too.

You're the best, Tam.

Mobius #3, turquoise.

She was actually just being nice to me, since L and I just delivered a loom to her house.

The new improved me does not need this many rug looms, so the Union Special is now residing at Tammy's house.

Her first loom.

Hopefully, she will be weaving rugs for me.  And eventually, I am sure she will be weaving them for herself.

Finally got back to the studio, to work on my new towel warp.   Listening to Pandora, with the fire roaring.

Does it get any better?

Yes, I know, the colors are wild.

I have no idea where this color combo came from.
I just know that I am having a blast weaving it.

Thanks for stopping by.
I am feeling better by the day.  I love telling you that.  You deserve to hear it, after listening to my HH woes for so long.
Hallelujah.
Right?

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A bump in the road...

You may have noticed that I've been absent for a bit. Yes, we definitely hit a bump in the road that brought my quilting to a halt. After 4 days of doctor visits and tests, my husband had open heart surgery on Friday to repair a valve in his heart. The whole thing took us by surprise and scared the dickens out of us. All is now well, though we're in for a long recovery time. But in many ways we are so thankful and looking forward to a quiet, relaxing winter at home.

So, before the bump, I did finish a couple small projects. This pincushion was for a Christmas party exchange at my quilt guild. I didn't get to go to the party and I think I ended up with a super cute pincushion.

the back...

I also had this unfinished pouch sitting on my UFO pile. Sometimes I wonder why I wait. It took me 20 minutes to finish it! And it will make a nice gift!

Just so you know - my blogging may be sporadic in the next few weeks. I'll be taking care of my favorite guy before any sewing gets done. He really is not very demanding, so hopefully I'll sneak a little quilting in here and there. Say a little prayer for us - we'll be over the bump in no time. . . .Cindy

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Oh, yeah.

I have been watching the "aches and pains" index all week....as far as the headache is concerned, it has been right on for a week.
Today is the highest the index has been in eight days, a 9, and it seemed to be true from the moment I got up this morning.
It poured all night.
Maybe I could get a weather forecasting job.

Sometimes I get up when it is just barely light.  I come downstairs and sit with my tea in the absolute quiet.  An occasional car going by.
I love this time of day probably more than any other.
Time to reflect.  Time to be grateful.
And believe it, I am.
I AM recovering from what seemed at the time to be catastrophic surgery.  I am slowly, day by day, getting back to a place that feels normal, even if it is not my old normal.  It's all relative, dear friends.
I have a lovely family, I do. And friends, good friends.  And Roy. And 6 felines.  And all of you.

I have the weaving studio that is a gift like no other, and I have friends who help me keep it going.
I have books, and looms, and yarn.  I have hope.
Life is truly very good.
I know what it means to count your blessings.  It is necessary.  Do it now, so it will be in your pocket when a bad time comes calling.  And you know that it will.
Lately I have been thinking a lot about how truly insignificant we all are.  Not that we don't matter, but that there are so many of us, there are so many that came before us, and so many will come after.
We are  part of so much more than we realize, but like one single star in a sky packed full.
Collectively, we shine.

Everybody needs his memories. They keep the wolf of insignificance from the door.
Saul Bellow

There is so much to see, and do, in this world.  For me, there are ponds and ponds to kayak.  I am dreaming of them now.  I am so looking forward to 2013.  Somehow, I know that it's going to be a very special year.

“I need no inspiration other then Nature's. She has never failed me yet. She mystifies me, bewilders me, sends me into ecstasies. Besides God's handiwork, does not man's fade into insignificance?”

 Mohandas Gandhi 

The "aches and pains" index is LOW for the rest of the week................
Bring it on.

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88 and going strong.

That would be my mother.  88 years old today.
And in spite of all her 'whingeing', as they say in England, she is doing quite fine.
Sometimes, I think that all old English women act like the queen,  and my mother is no exception.
She 'expects' to be in good health, and if something goes wrong, she 'expects' the doctor to give her something to FIX IT.
She does think that her opinion is the only one that matters, and that the world really does really revolve around her.
Having her body grow old on her is an inconvenience, she thinks, that is just WRONG.
On the one hand, she is so generous, she is always giving to some charity, or helping out family.
But on the other hand, she is the most self absorbed person I know.  It's confusing, at times.
To me, not her.

Well, today, the world.......at least ours........does revolve around her.  After all, she is EIGHTY EIGHT.  My God.
After many plans to coordinate between DH, daughters and myself, the party was on.
Making food at the studio, so she wouldn't be nosing around, having everyone arrive after I left with her for church.
A buffet of food, balloons, flowers, a huge surprise when she walked in the door.  Hoping, of course, that she would be extremely taken aback, and pleased, but not to the extent that she collapsed.
Oh, the peril.

Everyone was at my house, getting ready, and waiting patiently,while I had her at church.
 There were 20 of us altogether.

We were keeping in touch texting........so they would be ready for us.
The kids loved the whole surprise thing.

There's boss lady #1 daughter on the left..................saying SHHHHHHHHH.
#3 daughter, next to the water cooler, apparently thinks her sister is quite comical.

Menu was contributed by all......meat and cheese platter, toss salad, potato salad, macaroni salad, veggies and dip, rolls, baked beans, scalloped potatoes, lots of chips, pickles, chocolate chip cookies, and of course, CAKE and ice cream.
 You do see the CIRCUS sign, right?

  My mother, in the green, was sufficiently taken by surprise.

 

She must be exhausted by now, she pretty much talked non stop for 4 hours.

Mercy.

 

 But she had fun, she loved every minute of it.
She did, however, say that she couldn't believe I was responsible for any of this, since I was so SERIOUS.
Oh, dear, sometimes I wonder what planet she is on.

 I didn't take any of that to heart.
She is 88, she is allowed to be a brat.
And believe me, she is.

 Here are my three lovely girls.    I couldn't love them more.

 My mother announced that Gabs is 8, and Ava is going to be 8 soon, and she is 88.  If you ask me, they are all 8 years old.

Someone gave her a Queen Elizabeth that waves continuously, and operates on solar energy.

But do not be misled.
The real queen is right here, and doing just fine.

Morgan, Holly, my mother the Queen, Brooke, and moi.
I have to stop being so serious.
Ha!

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