Playing catch-up

I got a lot of yarn winding done last week, in spite of Tiny Kitten “helping” me. I wish I could tell you that she was absolutely well-behaved, but as I was pulling yarn out this morning to wind, I find that she chewed through a skein of yarn that I didn’t even think I’d gotten in her way. Sigh. It’s not even a color I want to work with (I usually keep kitten-chewed-yarn, because, well, because). Oh, Tiny Kitten. Don’t make me choose someone else to be Employee of the Month.

OK, so here’s a problem I just noticed when doing a preview of this post, having finished writing it — with so many pictures in the post, I need to write so many lines of text next to each one in order to space them out correctly. So then. Ignore this sentence. La la la la la….

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Twice last week I also had time in the afternoon plus packages light enough to carry for a mile, so twice I was able to walk to the post office. That was nice, because I have been feeling a little lazy lately. A little sedentary.

I used to get up and walk in the morning, but now I start work pretty much as soon as getting up, and that doesn’t leave me time to walk until late in the afternoon when I’m in “waiting mode” for yarn dyeing, or soap melting, or in between coats of paint. For most of the year, that means that I’m hosed as far as walking – who wants to walk in the 90+ degree hot wet Florida weather? But this time of year it works out, because walking in 60-70 degrees is not nearly so bad.

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This picture is really just to show off the fun corn-on-the-cob holders that Aunt Gay got Tim for Christmas. Functional! Adorable! You know you want them. Thank you, Aunt Gay! Hee!

And now I need to take up some more room, so… I’ll talk about food for a second! Remember when we got meat at the Farmer’s Market, hoping they wouldn’t be cross-contaminated and I wouldn’t have any allergy problems? Well, I didn’t, and was fine eating it, but Tim wasn’t really happy with the quality of the meat for the price we paid for it. So, I’m embarrassed to say, we’ve been getting meat lately at the Super WalMart up the road. Well, I’d be embarrassed, except that we’ve been doing that for a couple of months now and I haven’t had any allergen issues whatsoever, and really, “not dying” kind of trumps “where you got it” in my book. We’ve also gotten meat at the new Trader Joe’s – some really good flank steak – but it’s in Butler Plaza so we really, really have to want to go there. Locals will understand.

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This is the last bit of the yarn that I dyed last week. I’m bringing two new yarns into the shop, and this is both of them. They are jumbo-sized, double skeins, and I love them both so! One is an alpaca/wool and the other is an alpaca/silk, and they are both just lovely, lovely, lovely. I may be biased, loving alpaca like I do. But. YUM. I’m trying to get them wound today, but took some time off to write this post.

I’m only bringing eight skeins of each to start with, and will have a write-up on them later in the week that’s more official and stuff. They will be a little more expensive than the rest of my yarns, because not only are they luxury fibers but they are double-sized skeins. I’m hoping, though, that the price will be offset with the knowledge that two skeins will make a project (one yarn is about 500 yards, and the other is about 620) so you’d still be paying the same as you would for a lot of smaller skeins.

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I forget if I’ve mentioned, but I’m making a set of dishes for myself and Tim. I’ve slowly been adding a bowl and a plate in the kiln here and there, as they’ll fit. So far we’re up to six bowls and five plates, and I think we’re going for a set of eight. I had a set of dishes when Tim and I got together, and he had a set as well. I’m assuming he bought his set when he moved to Florida; I bought my set when I got divorced in 1999 and what’s-his-name took the dishes.

I wanted to get a set, when Tim and I got married, that would be our set, something we chose together, but that didn’t work out. So now I’m making us a set that we chose the shape and color for… that means more than just buying something, right? I’ve boxed up my old set to give away. Someone else, however, seems to be not as excited to get rid of their set. Even the chipped plates. Honey. Wonder who I’m talking about. (Love you!)

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This just gets me every time. There aren’t enough cross-species snuggles in the world.