Ready for Tour de Fleece!
This year it starts on July 6th. I plan to spin a little each day the "Tour" is on. I started last year and had to drop out, because we had our house on the market and my life was bedlam. I'm going to try to finish what I started. It's a Merino/Tencel blend from AlohaBlu in "The Frog Prince," in homage to the Ravelry group, The Frog Prince and His Knitting Community Orphans, which was begun to replace the KnitPicks Knitting Community when it closed down because it was taken over by pirates...I mean spammers.
My wheel is a Kromski Sonata named Stanzi, after Mozart's wife. She (my wheel, not Mozart's wife) has a special flyer called a WooLee Winder. The flyer that came with the wheel had hooks or teeth. I had to stop periodically and move the spun yarn from one hook to the next. This type of flyer has a travel screw that moves the spun yarn automatically, which makes for smoother yarn.
My WooLee Winder is primed with this much to start, when the "Tour" begins next Saturday. I hope to finish the 100g this year. This is how much I got done last year:
Need I say, I haven't done any spinning since the "Tour" began last year. I hope to remedy that this week!
Mandy, who has no teeth, finished the cardigan she was "making" to go with her dress. The sweater and dress come together in a pattern by Sharisse Dunn of Sugar Grove South. The pattern is called Church Picnic.
It was otherwise a busy week. We picked up our hearing aids at Pacific Northwest Audiology on Monday. We have already made the first payment, even though we could have waited. I already forget that I'm wearing them. There has been no change to the tinnitus yet, but that can take a while, and they have some programs that can be used if needed. We go back again in two more weeks. I do notice rustling paper and plastic, as well as the tires of bicycles on the trail before someone has to yell something for us to get out of the way. I can make adjustments with my cell phone, so I'm learning a new technology, as well as getting in the habit of cleaning my hearing aids every night and putting them on again in the morning after I shower.
Dusty was scheduled to have his teeth cleaned on Wednesday of this week, but the vet called us Friday night and asked if we could do it Saturday, as they had had an emergency cancellation. We could, so Dusty went in for the better part of the day. Here he is getting some needed (!) affection from Alex, the technician at Alpine Veterinary Clinic here in Bend prior to his procedure.
Here he is allowing the vet to show of his pearly whites when we picked him up. (That's Rocky in the background checking to see who else had been there since we dropped Dusty off at 9:00 AM.) No extractions needed. Dusty gets his teeth brushed every night at bedtime. Miniature poodles are prone to tartar buildup, so it's important to take care of their teeth. Rocky had his teeth cleaned about the same age and not since. He probably should have his done sometime in the next six months while he's still in good health. When he's older and possibly has age-related conditions it may not be possible to have a cleaning.
While Dusty was having his teeth cleaned, Rocky and I went out for our walk. I was thinking Dusty might not feel like putting in two miles after being knocked out for part of the day. I had planned on going to the end of the regular trail and back, as usual, but Rocky had other ideas. He insisted on going to the dog park. When we got to the street that leads to the park, he dug in his heels and wouldn't continue on the trail. Instead, he tried to drag me up the street, so I gave in. He had a nice romp with some other dogs, and then happily came home with me. We managed to put in two miles.
After we picked up Dusty, we stayed at home for several hours, and then Dusty told us he wanted to go for a walk, so Rocky and I did a second two-mile trek. Dusty was calmer than usual, but otherwise back to normal.
On the way back, we took the trail that leads into the wilderness on the other side of the trail. That made it possible for the dogs to be off-leash for a bit.
Here's our route, using the Walk for a Dog app.
Here's the app's history page for us. If you look closely, you can see that the extra two miles brought us up to over 54 miles in the past 30 days. I'm aiming for 60, which should be possible at two miles a day. It's a little complicated, because every day, we lose the walk we had 30 days previously. If we didn't walk, we don't lose anything. If we only walked around the block, we don't lose as much.
After Sunday's walk, I'm up to 55.26 miles, having gained two and lost one from May 31st.This is helping me regain my fitness, which had diminished due to some health problems and the strain of the move, which had made exercise difficult. It's good to be moving again.
Our new home continues to offer us surprises. This week's was the bushes on the side of the garage. Friends online have identified this as a rhododendron. I think I really need a touch of this with some dark purple in a quilt or a sweater.
When I look at them, I think of that song, "Go Tell Aunt Rhody." I wonder what surprises our yard still has to offer. At least these are good surprises.
Saturday night we sunk our teeth into this pizza. We get the cheese pizzas frozen at Costco. They have almost nothing on them. Then I doctor them up. This one has thinly sliced zucchini, pickled garlic, sweet peppers, red onion, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, green olives, crumbled faux sausage and fresh basil. Here it is before it went into the oven.
Here's how it looked when it came out. (It didn't shrink. I cropped out the ugly pan in the photo above.)
While we're on the subject of teeth, Zachary lost a tooth last week.
The other two grandsons, Soren and Johan, got together with their cousin Leo, who had just returned from living in Moscow (the one in Russia, not Idaho) and played with something called Ginormous Grow Frogs. Here they are showing off their teeth. (That glass of white wine in front of Leo isn't his. It belongs to DDIL, who was taking the photo.)
This week's story combined some photos taken during our visit to the northern part of the state a few weeks ago. I had to bake some bread to make sandwiches, so the dolls could have a picnic. Mandy used my cell phone to find pictures of animals to share with her younger siblings.
Finally, I made some progress on the shawl I started more than a year ago, the Coastal Skies.
What's on my needles: Coastal Skies shawl, using the pattern Knockout Round.
This year it starts on July 6th. I plan to spin a little each day the "Tour" is on. I started last year and had to drop out, because we had our house on the market and my life was bedlam. I'm going to try to finish what I started. It's a Merino/Tencel blend from AlohaBlu in "The Frog Prince," in homage to the Ravelry group, The Frog Prince and His Knitting Community Orphans, which was begun to replace the KnitPicks Knitting Community when it closed down because it was taken over by pirates...I mean spammers.
My wheel is a Kromski Sonata named Stanzi, after Mozart's wife. She (my wheel, not Mozart's wife) has a special flyer called a WooLee Winder. The flyer that came with the wheel had hooks or teeth. I had to stop periodically and move the spun yarn from one hook to the next. This type of flyer has a travel screw that moves the spun yarn automatically, which makes for smoother yarn.
My WooLee Winder is primed with this much to start, when the "Tour" begins next Saturday. I hope to finish the 100g this year. This is how much I got done last year:
Need I say, I haven't done any spinning since the "Tour" began last year. I hope to remedy that this week!
Mandy, who has no teeth, finished the cardigan she was "making" to go with her dress. The sweater and dress come together in a pattern by Sharisse Dunn of Sugar Grove South. The pattern is called Church Picnic.
It was otherwise a busy week. We picked up our hearing aids at Pacific Northwest Audiology on Monday. We have already made the first payment, even though we could have waited. I already forget that I'm wearing them. There has been no change to the tinnitus yet, but that can take a while, and they have some programs that can be used if needed. We go back again in two more weeks. I do notice rustling paper and plastic, as well as the tires of bicycles on the trail before someone has to yell something for us to get out of the way. I can make adjustments with my cell phone, so I'm learning a new technology, as well as getting in the habit of cleaning my hearing aids every night and putting them on again in the morning after I shower.
Dusty was scheduled to have his teeth cleaned on Wednesday of this week, but the vet called us Friday night and asked if we could do it Saturday, as they had had an emergency cancellation. We could, so Dusty went in for the better part of the day. Here he is getting some needed (!) affection from Alex, the technician at Alpine Veterinary Clinic here in Bend prior to his procedure.
Here he is allowing the vet to show of his pearly whites when we picked him up. (That's Rocky in the background checking to see who else had been there since we dropped Dusty off at 9:00 AM.) No extractions needed. Dusty gets his teeth brushed every night at bedtime. Miniature poodles are prone to tartar buildup, so it's important to take care of their teeth. Rocky had his teeth cleaned about the same age and not since. He probably should have his done sometime in the next six months while he's still in good health. When he's older and possibly has age-related conditions it may not be possible to have a cleaning.
While Dusty was having his teeth cleaned, Rocky and I went out for our walk. I was thinking Dusty might not feel like putting in two miles after being knocked out for part of the day. I had planned on going to the end of the regular trail and back, as usual, but Rocky had other ideas. He insisted on going to the dog park. When we got to the street that leads to the park, he dug in his heels and wouldn't continue on the trail. Instead, he tried to drag me up the street, so I gave in. He had a nice romp with some other dogs, and then happily came home with me. We managed to put in two miles.
After we picked up Dusty, we stayed at home for several hours, and then Dusty told us he wanted to go for a walk, so Rocky and I did a second two-mile trek. Dusty was calmer than usual, but otherwise back to normal.
On the way back, we took the trail that leads into the wilderness on the other side of the trail. That made it possible for the dogs to be off-leash for a bit.
Here's our route, using the Walk for a Dog app.
Here's the app's history page for us. If you look closely, you can see that the extra two miles brought us up to over 54 miles in the past 30 days. I'm aiming for 60, which should be possible at two miles a day. It's a little complicated, because every day, we lose the walk we had 30 days previously. If we didn't walk, we don't lose anything. If we only walked around the block, we don't lose as much.
After Sunday's walk, I'm up to 55.26 miles, having gained two and lost one from May 31st.This is helping me regain my fitness, which had diminished due to some health problems and the strain of the move, which had made exercise difficult. It's good to be moving again.
Our new home continues to offer us surprises. This week's was the bushes on the side of the garage. Friends online have identified this as a rhododendron. I think I really need a touch of this with some dark purple in a quilt or a sweater.
When I look at them, I think of that song, "Go Tell Aunt Rhody." I wonder what surprises our yard still has to offer. At least these are good surprises.
Saturday night we sunk our teeth into this pizza. We get the cheese pizzas frozen at Costco. They have almost nothing on them. Then I doctor them up. This one has thinly sliced zucchini, pickled garlic, sweet peppers, red onion, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, green olives, crumbled faux sausage and fresh basil. Here it is before it went into the oven.
Here's how it looked when it came out. (It didn't shrink. I cropped out the ugly pan in the photo above.)
While we're on the subject of teeth, Zachary lost a tooth last week.
The other two grandsons, Soren and Johan, got together with their cousin Leo, who had just returned from living in Moscow (the one in Russia, not Idaho) and played with something called Ginormous Grow Frogs. Here they are showing off their teeth. (That glass of white wine in front of Leo isn't his. It belongs to DDIL, who was taking the photo.)
This week's story combined some photos taken during our visit to the northern part of the state a few weeks ago. I had to bake some bread to make sandwiches, so the dolls could have a picnic. Mandy used my cell phone to find pictures of animals to share with her younger siblings.
Finally, I made some progress on the shawl I started more than a year ago, the Coastal Skies.
What's on my needles: Coastal Skies shawl, using the pattern Knockout Round.
What's on my sewing machine: Still costumes for the cast of The Doll's Storybook.
What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. No progress this week.
What's in The Doll's Storybook: Myrtle the Turtle. Mariah and Billy learn about turtles, frogs, limericks and more from Mandy during a picnic in a state park.
What's in The Doll's Storybook: Myrtle the Turtle. Mariah and Billy learn about turtles, frogs, limericks and more from Mandy during a picnic in a state park.
What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Murder at Archly Manor by Sara Rosett. Now listening to The Wicked Godmother by M. C. Beaton.
What's in my wine glass: Rosario Estate's Viñas Chilenas Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, vintage 2018.
What's my tip of the week: Don't buy peaches in June unless you plan to cook them. Another tip: I have a great recipe for Peach Crisp.
Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.
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