a truck for me

I know exactly what kind of truck I want.
-white
-2WD
-regular cab
-no more than $1700
- low mileage
-good condition
-Toyota

There have been 2 this last week on craiglist that I missed. But mine will come.

nl and I are going to ride American River on Sunday. Tomorrow I drive to Morningsun to trade tomato heirlooms with my tomatovillians group. Today I finally bought new shoes from Roger and am getting my racket restrung. Otherwise, Dennis would probably buy me a pair himself, he gave me such a hard time Tuesday night. Also, I'm trying to get it restrung at 55 instead of 58 for more power/pop.

I've decided that for someone to really know me, they should see me on the tennis court. And not be scared by my 'inner caveman' as James so aptly put it.

colors and playing the morning away

I bought this yarn from mysticalcreations.etsy.com. Notice it's not linked? It took over a MONTH to get to me!! They lost my order, the resent my order, they did add some nice stitch markers (even though I don't use stitch markers) so anyway....it's beautiful in the skein. Just as beautiful in person.

It's 100% silk. I think soft. NOT! It was dyed in the skien, and it has a very hard hand, and stiff.

So, being a spinner of many years, I decided to respin it. Pull out the hard, thicker areas (it is a bulky) and even it out and soften it up.
Here's the result.

Another thing one notices, is the colors, mixed, are dull! Respinning, the colors were vibrant and gorgeous, individually passing through my hands. But in a skein, and knit? Bleh. Really. Ack. Now what?

So I pulled out some merino/mohair black roving. I spun a fine single, and plied the darn stuff with it.







Better! The colors jump out now. So I frogged my clapotis that the yarn was intended for, and knit up this:

It's still darker, but if I play with the thickness of the
black, it should help.

And that's how I spent my entire morning! Didn't get tomato plants in the ground, didn't get to school to clean the aquarium, and didn't clean, sew or do much of anything else.

And now, I actually have to spin all those singles up, probably purchase more unless I can find ....oh. Brain blip. I could ply it with thread! Black thread.

My Brain gets a cookie today. I'm joining a knitting guild. They have a wonderful list of charity knitting opportunites. So I started obesessing about finding a pattern. Then I thought I should go to Borders and buy more books. I get 25% today for being an educator. But biking and my lazy self didn't mix, and then I thought: internet! Yep, found the cutest little ear flap hat.

Oh, well, since my 'want to spend ' reared up again, I to go to the yarn store to buy yarn. Of course, I have TONS of yarn, but none are really acrylic/washable/soft for babies and premies. Okay, I found red. That may still work, but THEN I remembered soysilk. According to this site
it has all of these incredible properties. Superior ventilation compared to cotton. The drape and beauty of silk. Softness of cashmere. Bacteria resistant qualities?

Does Paypal count as money? Anyway, it's also a charity write off (note to Brain: post it in blog for IRS proof of items made and sent to said charities) and I'm buying some lovely colors in soy fiber on ebay that I've had my eye on. Sigh. I know. I could buy the fiber and dye it at half the cost, and gosh knows I have dye out the wahoo, but I'm distracting myself enough these days!

I'm supposed to be working on my wholesale order of Sock Bugs (11 of them!) that I haven't started. I should plant my poor baby tomatoes and weed some more in my endless battle with bermuda grass.

But it's my weekend!! Oh, and tomorrow I need to ride. I'm so lazy. Really. I'll probably only do 34 miles tomorrow. I managed 50 last weekend! I'm supposed to building up, not down. Sigh.

OH - and told ds if the guy does not want to part with his '79 truck for less than $800, let it go. I know the 'engine purrs' according to Jeff, but it gets cruddy mileage, it's a longbed, very old, and it's RED.

Up and down and up and down...

So much thinking for my poor head!

I tried to really think about what I wanted. And the way my Etsy was running before I tried to sell wholesale was...perfect!! I was happy, I created when I wanted to, and it was so much fun to sell on Etsy, and get convos and feedback. I LOVED it!!

And, as wonderful as wholeselling and thinking of my Bugs in galleries was, the actuality was, well, stressful! The idea of large orders of up to 15 or 20 bugs that would need to be cranked out in even 3 weeks was overwhelming in my current life, it was crazy! So many things would have to be set aside to fill these. Lapidary, wire wrapping, tennis, cycling, gardening and my beloved tomatoes!! Oh, and work /friends/family...

So... I decided to back out of wholesale, save the one or two I'd already contacted. I've lowered my prices 20%, and sent 25% coupons to the 9 customers that bought them at the higher price.

Here's back to the good 'ole times!!

Tour of California....and a ring

Omer Kem from Priority Health. Yah, I took the day off to watch the cyclists zoom by in 30 seconds!! It was awesome. I watched it online through a live cam until they came off Cardiac and were headed across the flats. Then I took off on MY bike, and headed for the overpass. About 150 others had the same idea! I got a rail to sit on, perfect view! And for nl, here's the leg shot...

After they went by, I got back on my bike, and back home to watch them finish the race in Sac.

Oh, if only I could be in 4 or 5 places at the same time! It was between seeing them at Stevenson Bridge, at the sprint downtown, where I ended up, and at the end laps in Sac.

Oh yes. And the ring. Not a bike part, the kind I make. Went to a customer in Alaska!