Current crochet project

So my current project is this:

  So far, it's a very fun piece, easy to crochet and the directions are pretty clear. 

It's called "Tahitian Shawl" and it's beautiful. Mine, however is lying on the floor in a heap at the moment, so I don't have a pretty photo of it. I suck at posting my own photos, as you all know anyway. It is, in fact, easier than the changes and upgrades that Blogger is making to my blog. I'm having not so much fun navigating through all the additional crap that they've added. I just want to write my thoughts, you know? Without a whole bunch of extra stuff to wade through, decisions to make before I even get to my blog, and then arrive and not recognise my own stuff. Yeeeesh.

Nope, I haven't disappeared...

Fooled ya, huh! I'm still here. Just had a great weekend with my sister, WoolyWorks, at the one and only craft show we do per year, "Christmas in Windsor." We did well, selling just about all our new knitted and crocheted goodies, and making a tidy little bundle of cash to boot. Our booth looked untidy and tossed together, and...well...it was. I had some felted hats...

...and some crocheted ones...

...and a scarf or two...

...but I sold them all, so I have no more things to show you... ...except the dogs on a snowy night in the backyard:

Fall has Arrived! Yay!

Thank goodness it has cooled off around here. We have had a couple of cold days and frosty nights, which have improved my state of mind considerably. After a few days of coolness, the sun has come out, but with much less vehemence than a few weeks ago. I'm thrilled!!! The only thing about cold days is that the flies are literally begging to come in the house. They are plastered on the outside screen doors and take advantage of every opportunity to get in. Happily, I am very adept with the flyswatter. Porter has become a great fly hunter, too, so between the two of us, I'm sure the flies have the impression that they have entered the House of Death. The breeze is blowing a bit now, and I'm watching a shower of yellow leaves fall to the grass. I love fall!

Funky Burfday Socks

I promised a good friend some handknit socks...oooohhh....well....about a year before I left Peru. They were to be for her birthday. I jumped right on them and started knitting away. Got one done, got half the second one done; found a mistake WAAAYYY back by the cuff and had to rip it out and do it again. Discovered the second sock was smaller than the first, so I ripped it all out and started again. Started and stopped, started and stopped, then moved and packed them up and lost them, then discovered them again, but the needles had come out of the stitches and some were dropped and pulled out. Soooooo...I ripped back and started again. Finally I got them done and here they are:

Not the most beautiful I've ever made, but she is tickled to FINALLY get them, and now I can start on socks for myself. Or not. Maybe to sell. Who knows.

While I was in Iquitos, I had the opportunity to eat Paiche. If you click on the link, you'll see that Paiche is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world. Although it is said to be on the verge of extinction, it is widely available in restaurants on the Peruvian Amazon.

In this photo, the fish is as large, if not larger than the man carrying it. There are several places near Iquitos that raise Paiche, and it is being successfully farmed. I have to say that Paiche is one of the few fish that I enjoy eating without being prepared in ceviche. It just figures. A nearly extinct fish that isn't available anywhere near Cheyenne. The paiches I saw in the domestic fish farms in Peru were just babies, no more than 4 feet long. So here's another picture that I ganked from the internet:

Waiting and waiting...

I went to the movies a while ago and saw "Rock of Ages." Call me shallow, but I loved it. I saw it twice. Loved the music, and loved it even more when I found out that the actors all sang in it. It was a lot like when I found out that Johnny Depp could sing while watching "Sweeney Todd." Who knew Tom Cruise could sing? Who would even WANT to know? But, yes. Call me shallow. I'm now waiting for "Rock of Ages" to come out on DVD so I can watch it all over again.

Here's me with my gorgeous daughter. I love her more than my own life.

Catching Up a Bit.

In August, O and I went to Iquitos - yes, back to Peru - and played on the Amazon. I do have pictures of some of that on my camera, but the best pictures are on my USB, which a friend borrowed and hasn't returned yet. We ate at a restaurant that is out in the middle of the Amazon River. That river is HUGE. It's like being on the ocean. The branch of the river that Iquitos is located on is called Momon, with the emphasis on the second syllable (mo-MON). I have a few more pictures, and will post them as I get them downloaded, hopefully.

So, in order of appearance, is what's happening in the pictures below:

First off, here are O and I at a touristy restaurant called "The Yellow Rose of Texas."  It's owned by an American who came to Iquitos and couldn't leave.  The atmosphere and service are great, but the food is just eh, so-so.

And now, here we are in the restaurant out in the middle of the Amazon at night. It was very dramatic, romantic, quiet, and the food was very good. It was expensive by Peruvian standards, and it had a clean swimming pool on the lower deck. We had to take a bonca boat out there.

Here I am in the little bonca boat that took us to the restaurant. Remember "The African Queen" movie? This was just one step above the boat used in the movie. Nothing fancy, but it held about 10 people.

This last photo is of us on our way to eat lunch. Everyone travels about town on motorcycles, but lacking our own bike, we took a "mototaxi," or a motorcycle with a rear car on it. This was "Club Rojo."

I'm also getting ready for the yearly craft show that we go to in November. Have about 7 felted hats, a few crocheted vests, and my first knitted lace scarf. Well, it has lace on the edge. To tell the truth, I'm intimidated by knitting lace.

Is it the weekend yet??

Whupped. So whupped. It was goat shearing day, and although I didn't shear any, I did trim some hooves and drag some fat gals to the barber shop. I imagine that I am in horrible shape, considering I haven't done that kind of work in several years and I am completely tired. I'm still working at the ranch. No new job opportunities have come my way. I'm now working 4 days a week and we just got an increase in salary, so I'm better now than I was, but there are still "those days", when this job just eats me alive. I guess I must be getting used to it, though, because "those days" are now fewer and farther between than before. It helps me that O is here. It helps that Porter is still with me and just as devoted to his job as always. It helps that Celeste can still close her eyes and pretend no one is around, or just get up and leave when someone has a tantrum. I've learned a lot from these three dear ones. So here I seem to be staying. I've re-learned that there are battles I will never win. I've learned to choose my battles and to walk away from those battles that are futile. Literally. My days at the ranch go so much better when I am able to walk away from a tantrum being thrown in the house. Someone I know needs to have his temper tantrums in front of someone, and really, I don't need to be the one that he's in front of. There. That's the end of my ranch commentary. I hope never to return to it...unless it is to say that I've found another job. But one last ranch note: some things that are said here at the ranch by the residents of the house I work in sometimes leave me speechless. Here's an example --> "The doctor said to keep my arms. He said it would help." Another one: "I think my hands are numb. Feel them. Do they feel numb to you?" So I may be including some quotes from the house of the Four Wise Men that I work in. I hope you get a laugh out of them, because I really do.

So it's a new year. I have aspirations to see to. I have been spinning a TON, but have only actually finished one batch of pretty red merino wool. I squeezed out 650 yards from 3.5 ounces, so I'm happy with that. Opened up an Etsy shop and am working on a felted bag, a circular wrap, and a crocheted vest to list. There are already 4 of my daughter's listing in the shop, so I need to get on the stick and get my stuff listed! I sold all my hats before Christmas, so I'm back to building an inventory. Dogs are happily snoring, O is being a chef in the kitchen, and I need to get back to my spinning! Ciaou for now!