…what could be better?

 I joined the coffee and yarn swap over at swap-bot.  As soon as I finished publishing my last post, my favoritest (is that a word) mail man rang the door bell.  There was a box for me.  I had NO CLUE who it was from but plunged in.  Oooh, the yummy smell that greeted my nose and a treat for the eyes as well. 

Michelle sent me some yummy Lisa Souza yarn in a garnet colorway.  It’s a wonderful color and happens to be a favorite shade of mine (you know one of those Americana colors I like).  I have never tried Lisa Souza before so it’s a real treat.  And the coffee is roasted locally to her.  It’s a pound from IntelligentsiA Coffee called El Diablo Dark Roast Blend.  The blurb on the label reads in part:  “Delicious dark chocolate notes are softened by a seductive buttery sweetness and accented with mild floral flavors.”  Now doesn’t that just sound yummy?  Good thing I haven’t packed the coffee grinder yet, eh?  Thank you so much Michelle.  I appreciate you!

Not a whole lot left to pack really.  A few odds and ends in the kitchen, my bedroom, and a few things in each of the kids rooms.  But really, nothing that needs to get done right now.  Therefore, I am taking a break and spinning.  This is a wool/silk blend.

I dyed the below tencel sometime last week.  I had hoped it would turn out a little darker, but I am still learning how to use the reactive dyes. They work differently then acid dyes…at least I think so.  I haven’t been able to acheive the deeper colors that I want to yet.  But I will get it.  Anyway, I dyed the tencel in a sea foam color.  It’s actually more green then it appears on in the picture.  I think it will be a nice contrast for the warp with the magenta hand spun as the weft.  I will get it warped after we move.

The weather has turned wicked.  Yesterday it was bright and sunny and 75 degrees.  Today we reached our high of 62 arund 7:00 this morning and now at 2:00 in the afternoon it’s 35 degrees and rainy.  We are expecting ice and snow tonight and winds as high as 30 to 40 mph.  So, we shall see if we even attempt church tonight.  As of right now I am not planning on it due to the icy conditions.  So, it’s just a day to chill out and let the kids play with their toys before we pack them up tomorrow. 

How cool is this?  I found out I won this awesome prize from the Feet to Prayers Swap.  Check out the loot here.  I love the colors and can’t wait to see the pattern.  I am told it’s something I could use over and over again with my own hand dyed yarns and such.  Woo hoo.  Thanks again, Trish.

Not much on the weaving, knitting, spinning front.  Still spinning the wool/silk blend.  Still weaving the gray alpaca/black tencel scarf.  Things just are moving much slower this week as I ramp up other activities here to prepare to move Friday and Saturday.  I am starting to freak out a bit…..ok a lot.  Starting tomorrow, hubby is going back to the crazy, crazy job he had at the begining of the year.  It was a nice 6 month break.  His going back to this job and being on call makes me worry that he will get called in or get called often (as happened last Sunday during worship services) and I will be stuck trying to load the truck with just the kids and I.  That would be interesting for sure. Things like this happen to us, so it’s entirely possible.  The help we lined up for the big day decided to go out of town, so I am scrambling for some others to try to help out.

Jac had a birthday on Sunday.  He was so excited and really showed how cute and smart and funny he can be when he’s being himself and not hiding all his hurts and trying to be something he’s not.  (wow…did that make sense?)  Anyway, he was so excited over his gifts and had a blast.

I pray he has many more happy birthdays to come.

Back to packing and cleaning and laundry and all those other chores associated with moving and life in general.

Sorry for the blank message that was previously here. All fixed now….I hope…check out the post entitled, I WON.  Guess I saved it instead of publishing it to my blog and published a blank message instead.  Need sleep. 

…by the skin of my teeth.  Ok, not really, but it was a zoo out there. Last year was a piece of cake compared this yesterday.  Last year there were no lines anywhere I went.  Not so this year.  Tried to take advantage of $7.00 thumb drives at Staples.  Pretty much got laughed out on that one when I entered the store to find 200 people already waiting in line.  Headed over to the PX and went to their furniture/toy area.  Easy Peasy….got what I wanted there and thought the Main PX would be the same.  Not so at all.  Once in, I honestly couldn’t find my way out of the section I was standing in.  I found myself standing next to another lady who was also trapped.  I started to freak out a little (seriously…it wasn’t a mojor freak out…just a small feeling of panic) since I can’t stand to be in enclosed places.  Finally, a knight in shining BDU’s came to our rescue.  Ok, really he wasn’t wearing his BDU’s but he was a soldier.  He said something to the effect of, “I didn’t spend a year in Iraq training for nothing.  Ladies, follow me and I will lead you out of this battle zone.”  I blindly followed them.  He turned it into sort of a game, dodging and ducking around every end cap.  He survyed the terrority, he laid a plan of attack at every turn.  Finally we made it to the safety of the food court laughing and joking.  I then found out that this soldier was the spouse to the lady trapped with me.  He told her that he loved her dearly.  He now understood that going to Iraq was just training for after Thanksgiving shopping.  He further went on to say that he’d so anything for her, but to please never ask him again to go shopping on Black Friday again.  We laughed again and said our good byes.  It was indeed a mess there yesterday. 

I did bring donuts home to all the kids and my 5 got to share in their new tradition (started last year and they remembered) of coffee (decaf) and donuts for breakfast after Thanksgiving.  I did end up going back out to Hobby Lobby for several Christmas presents for the kids and some other people as well.  I got everything on sale or with the use of a coupon.  It was great.  I may go back there again today because I can still print out the internet coupon and use it for one more thing I saw.

In all this, we still have our 3 extra kids.  They spent the night again last night and will go home tonight sometime after 9:00 pm.  They are good kids and a joy to have around.  My kids do great with them and I am so proud of them.  Now only if I could get them to treat each other the way they treat the 3, we would be set.  Even if they treated each other like that a few times a week, we’d be good.

I started packing my fiber and dyes and all that yesterday.  Nearly done, but I did have some tencel in the dye pot so that will have to wait til today to be cleaned and packed.  Thursday I started a new scarf.  Yes I finished the rainbow one and it needs to be completely finished (blocked and such) for show and tell later on in the week.  But here’s what’s on the loom now:

Warp is 8/2 tencel

Weft is lace weight gray baby alpaca (and so soft)

Using 4 harnesses and treadles just doing a simple twill pattern.

Jim actually wove a pattern repeat on this one and saw how one could get lost in the whole process.  He did a great job.  Do we have another weaver in the family?  He says no, but I have feeling he will try again.  He didn’t like spinning, but he said he liked weaving.

On the wheel is a wool/silk blend which is bright and bold and sassy and soft.  That will be next on the loom….maybe.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

I just wanted to wish all my friends and blog readers a very Happy Thanksgiving.  I pray your day is blessed.

Our turkey and pies have been consumed.  Eight children are running wild and parents are tired.  It’s a good day.

Tomorrow I will be one of those early shoppers.  Not that there are any great sales or must haves, simply because it’s a tradition that my mom and I did for years and I am not ready to give it up yet.  I will bring some breakfast home for the family and we will enjoy the rest of the day…probably packing and generally causing mayhem wherever we can.

….my lack of posts recently.  I’ve been busy.  Really.  I know, it’s hard to believe.  I mean after all, I have 5 kids home all day, am trying to pack the house, sickness still reigns supreme in the house, have 3 additional kids 6 and under here all week long, have a huge dinner to cook Thursday, and trying to finish up some projects.  So, yes.  I am busy.

Secret Pal Give Away 

I was so scattered brained the other night I accidentally gave away my identity to the person I am supposed to be spoiling in the Secret Pal 9 Swap.  She was very kind and gracious and said she wouldn’t tell.  I am so not good at all this secret spy stuff.  Really I’m not.  I guess some people are really good at it and some people really stink at it.  I am one of those that really stink.  But it’s still fun to play along with the swaps.  I have met some really great people (totally to include my current Secret Swap Partner whom I have no idea who it is but enjoy conversing with her) along the way.

Loom-a-tic

Remember the rainbow roving I was spinning here?  Well, it’s all spun up, twist set, and is on the loom.  I am using 8/2 tencel for the warp and the rainbow roving as weft.  This picture honestly doesn’t do the scarf justice.  The sheen and colors are just beautiful and I am so in love.

 Faithful Military Wives

Last night I was able to go to our monthly military wives group at church.  I don’t get to go often based on hubby’s schedule, so it was a real treat to go.  It was such a blessing to be surrounded by such caring women.  Women who truly embody faith and prayer.  I truly hope to be able to go on a more regular basis.

Had something else I wanted to share, but for the life of me, I can’t remember it.  So, I guess, I will go spend some time with the kiddos (all 8 of them) and the hubster and settle down for the night.

Go  Ohio State Buckeyes!  Woo Hoo

So sorry secret pal 9…really.

Like I need a hole in my head.  So what did I do?  I started one like any fiber crazed person would.  Between cleaning and packing some stuff yesterday, I read an email talking about thrummed mittens.  I read the tutorial and decided that was something I could do.  I carded up some angora, pulled a random skein of yarn from my stash, and away I went.  Angora may not have been the best choice for the thrums I am told, but they are so soft.  We will see how they hold up. Here’s what I have done so far.

I am still working on the size of the thrums to keep them all about the same, but it’s getting easier.  So far…very cozy and I am giving myself a small pat on the back for being crazy enough to try these with all the madness going on around me. 

Packing…Spinning…Packing…Weaving….Packing….get the picture?

Yup, the packing has begun.  We signed the papers on the house, delivered them.  All is good!  I began the packing blitz today.  Why today?  Why not?  I am ready.  More then ready to move to a bigger house.  I figure not much will happen tomorrow being the “BIG” game and all.  Yup, Ohio State vs. Michigan.  Chili will be put in the crock pot early, snacks will be prepared, and hubby will be firmly planted in front of the TV watching (hopefully if it’s on in this area….there haven’t been many televised in this region).  I will have my 3 “extra” kids next week from Sunday to Saturday and who knows what we will get done.  So, I figured today would be a good day to get a jump start on things.

I did finish spinning the rainbow roving.  I am setting the twist and I LOVE how it turned out.  It’s gonna look great with the tencel.  So, now I need to finish the baby blankets on the loom this weekend and get the scarf warped and done before the move!  ACK!  Ok, I am crazy, but you all already knew that, right?  Of course, I have this sudden urge to knit thrummbed mittens. Why?  Heck, I don’t know.  I just thought that using some angora might be nice.  But then again…it might be too short of a staple to try.  But you know me…I will probably try it anyway.

Well, enough rest….back to work I must go.