Holiday Weekend

Our long weekend wasn't very exciting, but we did go to Odell Lake fishing on Sunday with friends. The fish weren't biting very well, but we did bring home enough for dinner.

We did watch a couple of good movies: P.S. I Love You and Gladiator (the one with Cuba Gooding, Jr.)

Projects

I've started a couple of new projects.  The weaving project is more dish towels.  These will be in the cat track and snail trail pattern (I couldn't find a link to show you the pattern so you'll just have to wait until I start the weaving).  These photos are of the warp that is ready to be beamed; that is wound onto the back beam.  The colors are mauve, navy, and cream.

This photo shows the raddle on top of the loom.  The pegs are spaced 1" apart so you can spread you warp out to the width your project will be woven at.  This way it will get wound onto the beam a the proper width and your warp threads on the outer edges won't have added stress on them from being pulled in or out.

I forgot to take a photo of the warp as it was being measured; I'll try to remember on the next project.

This is my new knitting project:
It is a Huggable Hedgehog.  Actually the knitting is all done.  I need to throw it in the wash to shrink and felt it, and then it will get a face and stuffing.

Mothers' Day

First let me start by telling you about the movie Australia.  We watched it the other day and almost turned it off.  The start of the movie is a bit shaky, making you think it's going to be silly,  but if you keep with it it turns out to be really good.  I would say that it is a must see.

Tomorrow is Mothers' Day.  For the past 19 years this has not been a good day for me in several ways.  My mom died almost twenty years ago while I was still living at home and not quite old enough to really appreciate her and all she had done for me, I never had the opportunity to meet my biological mother since she drowned in the early 70's when I was still a toddler, and I have not been fortunate enough to be blessed with children of my own.  These are facts that I usually accept well enough, but there are days like tomorrow that are just painful reminders of these great losses in my life.

My mom was a very loving mother who was always there when I needed her.  Nobody's hug ever felt as comforting as hers.  My mom loved her children and grandchildren like nobody else could.  She was always doing or making things for us whether it be our favorite birthday dinner (mine was roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy) or an afghan.  She loved to cook and bake, and she always had several crochet projects in progress.  Since I still lived at home when Mom passed away I didn't get any afghans or tablecloths, she made those for my brothers' and their families.  Mom did leave me with this:

A handful of unfinished projects.  There is a baby set and a couple of tablecloths shown here with the photo of a third tablecloth.  The third tablecloth has come up missing and I do my best not to let that eat me up inside.  This is the tablecloth she loved making the most and the one she left was almost finished and would have been perfect for my table.  I can't tell you how many times I have torn my house and attic apart looking for it, but I must not dwell on it anymore.

I have decided that I will spend tomorrow honoring my mom by working on one of her projects; I think it will be the beige tablecloth.  I don't need a special day to think of my mom since she and my dad enter my thoughts every day, but tomorrow I will devote some of the day just to her.  As I crochet I will see her hands as they used to work on these projects.  I will see her long, skinny, bare feet, crossed at the ankle, resting on the recliner stool.  It will be sad; I miss her as much, if not more, than I did when she passed; but it will also be comforting to have her hand work spread across my lap.

Happy Mothers' Day, Mom.

Patricia Gayle Bean  

December 28, 1931 - July 11, 1989

Shearing Day

First of all, I forgot to tell you something about Bandon. I was reading a list of events they have in the area and one of them is a cranberry festival. The thing about this that I thought was neat is that the high light of the event is a high school football game they call the Cranberry Bowl. I just love the idea.

Anyway, on to shearing.

Yesterday was the day so all day Wednesday was spent in the barn, cleaning, sweeping, rearranging. It was a hard day of work that paid off just in time. About ten minutes after my help left in started pouring down rain and I had to lock the alpacas in the barn. Nobody likes to shear wet alpacas and if the fleeces are even a little damp you have to find clean, dry places to spread them out to dry or else they'll mold in the bag and then it becomes compost.

So yesterday when we got started it was just like all the other years. The shearer has to teach us again how to hold, put the animal down, etc., but after the first three or four we all fell into a routine and we managed to shear all 24 alpacas in about an hour and 45 minutes. All in all it was a good shearing day, and now I have to start skirting fleeces all over again. (I skirted the last fleece from last year on Monday.)