This face

This is the face of a schemer.

This is the face of a manipulator.

And this is the face of a blackmailer.

I think Celeste lays awake at night, laying her plans, scheming how she will control us through the day. This may be the beginning of the Dog Mafioso is our apartment building. All the dogs in this building bark their plans and accomplishments to one another as they leave or return to their apartments. I think they are planning something big. Maybe a blackmailing scheme for bones. I can't be sure, but I see Celeste looking at the other dogs with THAT LOOK in her eyes...hmmmm...

Thorn Rainbowfly, at your service!

Your fairy is called Thorn Rainbowfly

She is a fortune bringer.

She lives in brambles and blackberry bushes.

She is only seen at midday under a quiet, cloudless sky.

She wears purple and green like berries and leaves. She has multicoloured wings like a butterfly.

Get your free fairy name here!

I'm sure by now, everyone has tried the Fairy Name generator. So this is the name of my inner fairy, my true self, and who I am in my dreams (yeh right...) I wish I could find a picture of her, but I can't seem to come up with one, so I officially declare my next project to be devoted to creating my inner fairy. I hope I can find some fiberfill stuffing for her body!

The week in review...

This week has been pretty uneventful. I spun a couple of spindles of some black merino/silk fiber and plied it. It's had a bath and is now hanging up to dry. And I'm working on two more spindles of it. I only have 4 ounces of it and have spun half of it so far. I thought I was getting it pretty thin and would have some good yardage, but so far, I've got only 148 yards of 2-ply out of 2 ounces. But it's spinning pretty fast, so I should be finished with it by the end of this week.

And, I've been looking for some double pointed needles for a long time. There are no well-stocked yarn shops here, like there are at home, so knitting needles are pretty hard to come by. I only have one set of size three DPNs and they are occupied with a sock that I stalled out on for lack yarn, so I've done no sock knitting for a few months now. Yesterday, I decided it was time for decisive action. I marched myself into the local Metro supermarket and went straight to the toy section, looking for something, something, something that would do for DPNs...and I found it!

PIXIE PICK-UP STIX, 30 each in bamboo. They come in a metal box that is just perfect for crochet hooks and DPNs. The pick-up stix are size 3s, just like my single set of metal DPNs. I haven't started knitting with them yet, but I have high hopes. Anyway, for a buck and a half, if they don't work out, I've still got a game and a cool metal storage box for my crochet hooks. I'll let you know how they do as knitting needles.

And on Wednesday, the electric company sent a man out to cut off our electricity because we didn't pay our bill. The catch was that we HAD paid our bill well in advance of the due date. Luckily, I was home when the doorman called up to tell me. I went downstairs to find out how this could possibly be, with my receipt of payment (we don't send payments through the mail here...you have to go pay in person) and the electrician told me that I should have paid by the 11th of the month.
Well, yes and I'd paid on the 5th.
But Señora, you had to pay by the 11th. I have an order from the company to cut off your electricity.
But Señor, I just showed you my receipt that said I paid on the 5th.
Profound silence. Electrician thumbs through his notebook for a few moments then clears his throat.
OH. There must be a problem with the system, Señora. I'll reconnect your electricity now.
Muchisimas gracias.

Such is life.

We went to see Monsters and Aliens at the movies tonight. I must not be that much of a kid anymore. I was bored through the whole thing. It was cute, but just not my style. I did, however, totally LOVE Inkheart and Twilight, even though Inkheart was in Spanish.

O and me, shopping in Gamarra

camping, anyone?

This weekend was a long one...we had 4 days off for Easter...and decided to go camping for two of them. What I had in mind was a quiet weekend in a tent, hiking some, reading, spinning, maybe some knitting, and a swim - just generally doing what I wanted to and escaping the noise of the city and escaping people. What I got was just the opposite.

We started out well enough - we packed a few things for just two days, Thursday and Friday. Celeste was going to stay with her buddies and we could play without worrying about where she was. On the way to drop Celeste off, O told me that we were going to take Landeo and his family with us. So much for escaping the noise. The Landeo family has three boys who pick on each other, whine, cry, yell, and generally make life miserable for everyone around them. The mother, Rosa, spends her time yelling at the boys and giving orders to whomever happens to be close. Landeo himself usually spends his time at work, so he doesn't have to deal with the family too much at one time. So, the 2 hour ride up to the campground was kind of miserable for me. By the time we arrived, I had a headache from all the racket going on in the back seats (we have a minivan, so there's always plenty of room for others.)

The campground was well-populated by the time we arrived, but there were places to put up a tent. I have never understood why people say they want to get out of town and then basically bring everything from town with them. Maybe I'm too much like my mother in this respect. O and I brought a tent, sleeping bags, and a change of clothes. On top of tents and sleeping bags and clothes, Rosa brought a boombox, toys, candy, soda, an iron, 6 blankets, a different bottle of shampoo for each boy, an umbrella, a curling iron, make-up, an evening gown and heels, a suit for each boy and her husband, and 4 pairs of socks and shoes for each of them. I guess you just never know when you will encounter a formal party during a camping trip.

Half an hour after we arrived, several of O's friends from work also arrived and pitched their tents right next to ours. Okay, I as glad that O had some other friends to talk to, because I knew that I would be a boring partner for him, just hiking and spinning, and maybe doing some knitting. But not long after they got to talking, a crate (12 liters) of beer arrived, and then a bottle of pisco, and by dark, these people were completely wasted. I took a walk for a few hours, then went back to the tent to sleep, but the party continued for a few hours more. Then I heard our car start up and O and Landeo were off on a joyride down the mountain. CRAP. Two drunks in a car on a mountain road. Not the best of situations. O and I have had NUMEROUS discussions about this and he promise me that he would NEVER drink and drive. By the time he returned, I had been worried, scared, and furious by turns. I heard the car arrive and was on my way out to talk to him, when he cranked it up again. ARRRGH! I flew to that car, pounding on the window and screaming for him to open the door. He did and I demanded the keys. He handed them over, in shock, I think. I took the keys and slammed the door in his face. Yup, in shock. I had never lost it like that, but this time, along with the way the weekend was going, to have O pull something like driving under the influence was just the limit of my endurance.

I later heard him asking his buddies what MY problem was, and resisted the temptation to march out there and attack him verbally. I know that talking to a person who has been celebrating and drinking for hours is pretty much a lost cause. No point to it, because he wouldn't remember it in the morning anyway. And it was true - the next morning, he couldn't find the car keys (because I had them) and didn't remember that I had almost crushed him in the car door after I got the keys away from him. We still need to have a talk about that. We did talk that night - he came into the tent crying and upset that I treated him badly and why and it wasn't his fault, and what had happened that I was so mad, and so on and so forth. I was straight with him and told him exactly what the problem was, which made him cry more, but...like I said, the next morning, he didn't remember. All he knew was that he had a massive headache and a terrible hangover, and he spent a good part of the day sleeping it off.

We left the campground about 6 pm on Friday. We dropped off the whining, crying, and yelling at their house, then went to pick up Celeste. At that house, we were offered a little to eat, ate and got sick later that night. I spent Saturday in bed, feeling like crap.

But today is a better day. It's the last day of the weekend, and I have time to spin, knit, and go for a walk, which was all I really wanted to do in the first place.

Okay, now I'm done fussing and whining. No more of that, I promise.

just blabbing

Whew! I just realized that I'm almost back to normal again! Still about 10 pounds lighter than I was before going into the hospital, but with a higher energy level and NO PAIN. That's the biggest thing. And I can think now. And clearly, too. That's a HUGE difference for me.

So while I'm still spinning yarn, I'm now spinning thoughts now, and have some to share.

I've been reading about this new April Fool worm threat that was supposed to do something on April 1st. I wonder if my computer is infected or if our new anti-virus software eliminated it. Or whether our computer is too old for the worm to bother with. I haven't had any trouble with anything yet, but am taking the precaution of using the computer system at work to check on my important financial and banking things. I noticed while I was using the system in class the other day, that a message was sent saying that the worm had been removed. So I think that might be a safer place to access bank records and whatnot. And luckily, I got my taxes done before April first, too. Has anyone else heard anything more about this worm?

I've got a small group of students this month - again - who smell so bad that my eyes water every time I get within 10 feet of them. This morning, I went to my supervisor to ask for advice on the best way to approach this. They are good boys - enthusiastic, motivated, and interested in learning. I don't want them to feel intimidated or embarrassed, and I don't want to shut them down by telling them that they reek. So my supervisor said that the administration would handle it, and that they had had many cases like this before. That's load off my mind. I don't want to hurt any feelings in my classes or make them embarrassed to come to class.

Last month, I had a young lady in my class that had deformed hands. Both her hands were enormous and had only a thumb and two fingers on each hand. They resembled claws, actually. She was so self-conscious about them that she kept her hands hidden in her purse and wouldn't raise a hand to volunteer for about two weeks. I did my best to put her at ease, and really, none of the other students said or did anything rude about her hands that I was aware of. About 2 weeks into the class, she began to participate. I was thrilled! I moved her around to different groups of students and put her with different partners and she seemed to gain confidence and flourish. She did great on her exams and passed the course.

But if I had it to do over again, I would have gone immediately to my supervisor and asked for some advice about how to bring her out of her shell a little sooner. Two weeks into a 4 week course is a little late to decide to participate. It's very difficult to catch up and get up on everything that was missed.

Has anyone ever had experiences similar to this? What would you do to help a student like this gain confidence in a shorter period of time?

And one other thing....I see that I've got over 14,000 visits to my blog! Woohoo! I'm thinking about a giveaway or contest thing to happen when the visit number tops 15,000. Could be some fiber to spin, maybe a spindle, maybe some of my funky hand spun yarn, maybe a crocheted skirt...I think I have plenty of time to figure it out! Whatever it is, it will be a surprise!

spinning obsession?

Well...maybe. I have several spinning projects in the works right now:

and the spinning

These two photos are my latest spinning project. It actually took me about 6 months to get this all spun up. It's 8 ounces of pink, purple, white, and brown cotswold and merino, with some sparkles, spun in two-ply worsted weight. About 400 yards. No idea yet of what I should make with it.

New Spindles

These spindles are handmade by Heidi, on Ravelry, her name is RestlessPeasant. They are quite light, made for spinning laceweight yarn. They are so well made that they make spinning a breeze!

hmmm...

Well, here I am in an internet cafe up the street from the apartment. Yesterday afternoon, we lost both telephone and internet. So hmmmm. I don't know what the problem is and I don't know when it will get fixed. Just hmmmm.

Spinning again

Whew! I'm back from a long dry spell. I've been kind of depressed about how long it's taking me to get over the effects of this surgery thing. It's been a month and I still have days when there is a LOT of pain and inflammation. Days when I just can hardly stand to get up. I hate that.

But then I have good days, when I'm full of energy and creativity and get a lot of everything done. So I guess everything balances out in the end. I've been back to work, but with one less class than usual and only in the afternoons, which really has helped, especially on those bad days. I hope this month I'll have a full schedule again. I hope I can handle it.

But on the good days, I've been spinning a lot. I just finished 8 ounces of brown, and white pink, purple, corriedale/merino/sparkly stuff from Enchanted Knoll Farm. I spun it into worsted weight yarn, and ended up with about 400 yards of pretty yarn. Now I'm halfway through some white alpaca that has been carded with kid mohair locks and curls, and a lot of sparkle. It's very pretty so far, but I don't really care for the way the mohair has not been blended into the alpaca. It's more or less in lumps and clumps scattered through the batts. I had envisioned some lovely socks from this fiber, but I don't know if that will happen. There are so many ends sticking out of the yarn...not my idea of a good sturdy sock yarn. I haven't decided if I should ply it with itself or ply it with some white alpaca that I got from my sister, Wooly Works. I have one spindle loaded with about 1.5 ounces, so it might be time to spin up a little white alpaca and do some experimenting.

Believe it or not, my spinning stash is reducing somewhat! Spinning is great therapy for the blues, especially if you have fun colors and different fibers to play with.

A little time has passed since I started this post, and I've been spinning the white alpaca that I was talking about a little earlier. I forgot what a pleasure it is to spin!

Since this seems to be an ongoing post, I'll be back with pictures this afternoon.

with ruffle...

Brown acrylic blend, drawstring waist, size small - medium.

What I've been doing...

These are fingerless mittens made from handspun superwash merino and a few multicolored seed beads. Fun!

This is one of the crocheted skirts I made while I was waiting for the pain to subside. Drawstring waist, worsted weight yarn, size medium. I like it! I've already worn it to work, and it's nice, but it's still a little too hot here for me to wear it again till fall.


These are some shots of the crocheted lace I made from the teal romney. I don't know if you can see the crystal beads in the photos, but in the sun they catch the light and sparkle like raindrops.

Here's Celeste, patiently waiting for me to get out of bed.

Back from the dead...

Whew! Today's the first day that I've felt anything like myself since before I had surgery. I'm still not 100%, and have some issues, but am MUCH better (aside from having to sit on absorbent padding :o( instead of directly on the chair seat.) While I was out of sorts, I crocheted and slept, so I don't have much news, other than I'm about 10 pounds lighter from a loss of both water weight and body weight. Now that I'm back on my feet, I have a lot of work ahead of me.

As you may know, neither dogs nor men are particularly good at housework. Celeste did her best to keep me safe and under observation. When I cried, she cried. When I slept, she slept - or at least she was on the bed with me. When I thought about eating but didn't (being in abject fear of the pain experienced in the bathroom), she dutifully abandoned her own dogfood to help me dispose of unwanted bread and pasta. Now my bed smells strongly of dog butt and dog feet, but I know for sure that Celeste is a trustworthy and dear family member...no spoiled princess act aside from being reluctant to give up her spot on the bed. She does not, however, sweep the floor or do laundry.

O is the most devoted husbands and caring man that I could ever hope for. I left a long and abusive marriage several years ago, determined to never be treated like dirt under any man's shoe again. Life with O can be frustrating...he is a man who does most things in his own time...however, he has waited on me hand and foot and never made me feel badly about it. I hope I can be the same for O when he needs me as badly as I needed him these past two weeks. However...he cannot be depended upon to do laundry, wash dishes, or clean up after himself in any way. So, I have a dirty apartment to muck out and a kitchen to clean up. I've been chipping away at the pile of laundry everyday, so that is almost caught up, except for some ironing and folding to do.

And, maybe if I do a good job of cleaning, I'll find that damned elusive USB cable for the camera...

Celeste here again

Hi people. The Mom can't write for a few days again. She went to the vet's (just like I did once!) and had a droid operated. I can't write for too long, either, becauz I hafta follow her around the partment to make sure she's okay. She's sittin in the bathroom right now in a orange tub and kinda cryin so I can type a little. I can see her right now, so it's ok. But when she goes back to bed or into the kitchen I hafta go, ok?

But guess what - she finally finished the romney shawl with the sparklies in it. She showed it to me last night. She sez it has to be blocked, but I think she'll do that later. She started a new project while she was at the vet's - a skirt - but she can't try it on yet.

She was gone a long time! 5 days! I hadta take care of the partment and The Dad went to work and to see the Mom at the vet's. Wow, I'm glad I didn't hafta stay there that long when I was operated. I missed The Mom while she was gone, but I hate the vet's, so I'm glad I didn't hafta go, too. I don't want no droids. I'm glad she's back now becauz I get to spend the WHOLE DAY with her on the bed. She's not so muh fun as usual, but I know she'll get better quick.

Oops, I hafta go watch and make sure The Mom gets to the bed ok. Then I hafta get on the bed and watch her. Bye.

We Don't Read Here in Peru

I have heard, since I first began to teach English here in Peru, that "here in Peru, we don't read." For the most part, it seems to be true. Many of the instructors that I worked with in CIVIME confessed that they do not read anything, except what is absolutely necessary to complete their lesson plan for the week or the day (and their English vocabulary was severely lacking, yet they did nothing to improve it. How you teach a language if you don't speak it is completely beyond me.) People tell me they just don't have time to open a book. I find that appalling. One of the best ways to increase your understanding and vocabulary is to read, especially things that are of interest to you. I've had a hard time getting people here to accept that idea. There is no real emphasis on literacy here, even in Spanish.

So I decided to do an experiment this month. ICPNA, where I work, is launching a reading program for the English courses of Basic 8 through 12. Nothing is done for Basic 1 through Basic 7, perhaps the idea is that they don't have sufficient vocabulary to understand a reading...I'm not sure. But I know that from the time my daughter was born until she was in the fourth grade, I read her bedtime stories. When she was 4, she began to actively participate in the story telling, reading one page or maybe just a paragraph if she was tired, and then I would read another. Through the reading and the funny character voices and the pictures, she learned a lot of vocabulary and grammar. I didn't test her and we only read things that were fun and interesting. It was just for fun. Now she's a voracious reader, quite an articulate speaker and outspoken in her opinions. I can't take any credit for that. She did it on her own. I did what I enjoyed doing, and she did what came naturally to her.

This month I took "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" to work with me and read it and acted it out in my Basic 4 class, on the second Friday of the cycle. I simply read it and used a couple of pictures and different voices to represent the characters or the story. I didn't test them over it, I didn't explain anything, and then I sent the story home with them. I asked them to bring it back the following Friday and we'd read through it again. Just to see what they thought of the idea. Just for fun.

They LOVED the story. In fact, they had all taken the story home and read it several times and learned some words and could participate in the story. When I read "trip-trap, trip-trap went Little Billy Goat Gruff's tiny hooves", all the students were pounding their feet on the floor till LBGG made it across to the other side safely. When the Troll leaped up on the bridge to confront a goat, they all yelled in a deep, cranky voice, "HAAARRRR! Who's that crossing my bridge?!" And when Big Billy Goat Gruff charged the troll and sent him up the river, they cheered for BBGG, just like my little girl did when she was 3 years old.

So, who says that here in Peru, they don't read? Given a fun or interesting piece to read, I think anyone would be willing to read, even if they are in Peru. I think I'll do this again next month, if I have any classes from Basic 1 through 7, and just see what happens. I think if I can appeal to the kid in them, the students might read just for the fun of it. It's only three talking goats and an ugly troll, but maybe from that could spring great things. I think the instructors from the public school system and other institutes are doing the students here a terrible disservice to assume that they will not read, or that they don't want to. To perpetuate an attitude like that is disgusting to me.

The Three Billy Goats Gruff and I are on a literacy crusade in my part of Lima.

Well!

Well, yes...I've been busy, and have several photos to show you, but unfortunately not in this post. O has lent out the cable that connects the camera to the puter, so I haven't been able to download photos for about a week and a half. Grrrr....

But anyway, I have almost finished the lace stole that I've been working on. Teal Romney lace weight yarn with gold glitz spun in and crystal clear seed beads scattered randomly across the piece...sounds nice, doesn't it? Well, I love it, but you know...those photos will have to wait till I can get them on the computer. Maybe by the time the stole in finished, the camera cable will have returned.

And...I've finished up a pair of fingerless gloves made from handspun superwash merino. Shades of blue and purple with seed beads at the upper edges. Those sound pretty, too, don't they? Yes! They are, but you know the story...no cable to download pictures with.

And...I received several batts and rovings to spin up - all in a rainbow of gorgeously rich colors...but...not a cable in sight to download those photos. Wah. And a pair of new lace weight spindles came from Heidi in Colorado, but nope - no photos of them either. Phooey.

And, I have a few photos of Celeste with her "I hate cameras" face.

Several of my students come to class badly in need of a shower. I know it's hot, but when someone arrives to the 7 am class smelling like they've not bathed since last Sunday night (today's Friday), it just about waters my eyes when the student approaches my desk. I have a hard time telling students "Hey buddy, you're a little over ripe. Why not treat yourself to a shower before you go to bed tonight?" Not only would he (or she) not understand, but maybe they don't have access to water on a daily basis. Some people here only have water at certain times of the day, and some have to haul water from the truck that comes once a day. So I feel really bad about telling someone here that they need a shower.

But - today a student came to talk to me and I swear, he must not have washed for a very long time. The body odor was overpowering. How do you tell someone in a nice way that they really reek and need to scrub off a little bit? I have noticed that several student take their daily bath in the institute sink, where there is clean water and soap always available. I know they do this because they walk out of the bathroom soaking wet from hair to shirt to shoes. In the heat it doesn't take long to dry. I know these students are more comfortable, so I wonder why more of them don't take advantage of the availability of water and soap?

A post from Celeste

You may have noticed that The Mom hasn't written anything here for a little while. That's because she's been busy figgering out the frigerator. The Mom and The Dad thought that the frigerator conked out when all the water ran out of it and all over the floor, even coming inside MY VERY OWN BEDROOM while I was sleepin. That was last night. This mornin when it was still dark, there was still water runnin out of it and The Mom and The Dad were talkin about how much fridges cost and lookin kind of worried, but when The Mom came home from her morning work, she went right to the fridge...even ignorin ME, who was waitin with my BIG BLUE EYES for her say "Good morning" to me and take me out to do my buzzniss. She picked up all the towels from the floor and mopped up around my house, and then opened up the fridge and gave it a thunk with her hand. Then there was sort of a crash and she hauled out a big honkin chunk a ice and tossed it in the sink. Then the fridge made a noise and The Mom grinned at me and said "You did it, Celeste!" I donno what I did, but the fridge is workin agin and The Mom's happy agin. I'm just glad all the wet towels are gone from around my house. I had to toss out my jammas becauz they were damp, too. I donno if The Dad noticed.

And The Mom's been spendin a lot of time with her spindles lately. That bugs me. Yaknow, it's MY JOB to make sure she gets outside and goes walkin everyday. I hafta get my own leash now and take it to her to make sure I get to do MY JOB. It's important! It's MY JOB to go with her whenever she goes out a the house so nobody bothers her. I always go with her and take a GOOD LOOK at the people who pass by. She always tells me "Take a GOOD LOOK, Celeste, and see if you think they're okay." So I always that a GOOD LOOK and sometimes they make my hair stand up and I make The Mom walk really fast then till those people are gone. It's MY JOB. Sometimes those creepy people follow us for a little bit, but I always keep my BIG BLUE EYES on them, and let my hair stand up so I look bigger and meaner than I really am. Sometimes I just sit and keep a GOOD LOOK on them and make sure they go away. It's MY JOB, too. The Dad told me that it's MY JOB to go with her all the time so I do. He does notice that.

So, I love MY JOB, yaknow? One other thing I really love is THE BED. Whenever The Mom comes home and takes a little nap, I get to take a little nap too, on THE BED. Ooooo, THE BED is soooo soft that I just hafta roll around on it and jump and play on it and then The Mom says DOWN, and then I get to take a little nap, right there on THE BED! If I could just eat some BREAD BREAD BREAD there too, I'd be set for life. I bet The Dad wouldn't even notice. The only bad part is when The Mom wakes up from her little nap, then she changes into her skirt. I hate the skirt. I get worried when I see the skirt becauz then its not too long before she goes to her afternoon work and I hafta wait until The Dad comes home from his work to go outside and take another little nap on THE BED. The Dad says I can't get on THE BED, but if I wait till he's snorin in his little nap, then I can get up there and take a little nap too. I don't think The Dad even notices.

Okay, I hafta go now. The Dad's comin in and I am sittin in his chair. If I get down now, I don't think The Dad will even notice.

Love from Celeste

Some Beginnings and Some Endings

Okay. Now that the laceweight romney has been spun, I have started to wind it into center pull balls so I can cast on the Seascape stole. I have 810 yards and still have about an ounce and a half left of unspun batts...which is okay since I ran out of fiber to finish Tai's garden socks and need a coordinating yarn for the toes.

Anyway, I am so tempted to go on a discourse about my first real lace weight yarn, but just let it be known that I am completely THRILLED with it! I'll be casting the stole on today.

I'm still spinning the Earth Tweed from Maggie's farm. I think I have about 250 yards of singles, and have begun a second spindle. It's not laceweight - more like fingering weight, I think, but I probably won't know until I get it plied. I've been revising my ideas about what to make with this yarn, once it's finished, and I'm leaning towards a lacy, long-sleeved shrug. For this shrug, I'll need 750 yards.

O and I had quite a discussion this weekend. I'm pretty done with people telling me every time I step out of the apartment that I'm going to get robbed because I'm a gringa. I'm sick of constantly looking over my shoulder and clutching my purse to me like a hunted animal. Everyone talks to me like I'm a robbery just waiting to happen. No, I don't want anything to happen, of course not. I don't want to get robbed, but I also want to move about the city with confidence and freedom from fear. O admitted that as long as we live here freedom and confidence are probably not going to happen. Robbery most likely will. You know, I can take the heat, the bugs, the dirt, the stinking toilets, and slum-like conditions of almost the whole city. I could live with that. But I will not live with the constant threat of being attacked and robbed. I work in one of the most dangerous areas in Lima, specifically Jiron Cuzco, where the institute I work in is located. Thank God I don't live there. O has been mugged and beaten several times since coming to Lima. Last time he was pistol-whipped for his cell phone and 5 soles (about $1.75). Most people who live here have been robbed or subjected to violence in some way. They have become accustomed to it and accept it as fate. I'm sorry, I can't do that.

So, we have decided that I have one more year here and then my Peruvian adventure will come to a close. The good part is that O's Amazing American Adventure will begin! He has about that much more time in university classes to complete and then he'll be ready. That decision lifted a huge weight off my shoulders and, unfortunately, planted the weight on O. He spent the rest of the day researching the US and finding all kinds of terrifying info about tornadoes, snowstorms, floods, and forest fires. I kind of added to it when I said that there were all kinds of wild animals that lived not that far from our house in Cheyenne. Saturday night, he dreamed about moving to Cheyenne, and Sunday we talked some more. He looked stressed all weekend, but this morning, I think he's better.

So, next year, I should be returning to my little "House of Rogue Tufts" in Cheyenne, where the wind always blows and the grass grows long and the antelope live just a few blocks away...along with the rabbits, raccoons, skunks, coyotes, bison, and deer. And of course, the cattle. It is cattle country, after all.

The week in review

This week has been busy! Final exams are over for the cycle and we get a couple of days' break until the next cycle begins on Tuesday. At the end of every cycle, there is a "Teacher Development" meeting, where the ICPNA bosses give us a heads up about any changes that they are making, and we get to attend seminars given by some of the best English language teachers and education professionals from around the world. This month, the seminar was given by Dr. Nezhat Olia. The topic was "Learning, Retention, and Forgetting." After hearing about Pavlov's Dog for decades, I finally found out what the dog did. The reason for these seminars and training sessions is that ICPNA does not require teachers to have a teaching degree or a degree in English, because universities in Peru often do not have very qualified professors of English, nor are their English programs very good. (Many operate on the theory that one does not have to speak the language or have a high level of fluency in order to teach the language. Just play the tape, point to the pictures, and copy from the book onto the board - no speaking involved.) So we have a need for continuing education. ICPNA has very high standards for their teachers. We are evaluated every month, have monthly trainings during the cycle, and have projects that we are required to produce in order to develop our teaching skills and enhance the English program at the institute. It's a lot of work but completely worth it.

I've also been spinning my little fingers right off, and finally finished the teal lace weight. I also picked up the red wool that Wild Tomato sent me last year. I'd spun about 1/3 of it, then got distracted and went in another direction. So I'm back to spinning it, and am now about half finished with it. In a few more days, I'll have it done (I hope!) and will have transformed it into yarn for a beret, fingerless gloves, or pair of socks. And, I started spinning another batt of bamboo, merino wool, and a TON of sparkly stuff. I'm very curious about bamboo and have started two spinning projects with fibers including bamboo. Bamboo has the feel of silk, but for me, it slips so much faster than silk. It's interesting and I can't wait to finish spinning it so I can make something of it.

And I think I have created two monsters: both O and Celeste. Apparently both have picked up habits from me and expanded on them somewhat. Today, when I came home from work, I discovered two knitting books in the laundry basket. O had been looking at them through the afternoon. How strange! He's never shown the least bit of interest in crafts, nor has he ever picked up a book about anything that doesn't involve pharmaceuticals (he's a pharmacist) and here I find evidence of hidden curiosity...hidden in the laundry. I'm so amazed. I wonder if it will continue.

And Celeste...she's learned to bring her leash when she wants to go out. But it's expanded now to more than letting us know when it's potty time. Now, she brings the leash when she just wants to get out of the house for no reason other than to play or see what's happening out there. When I arrive home from work, she brings her leash to me, even though she's already gone out with O just a few minutes before. It's kind of like she's saying, "Welcome home! Let's go out for a walk so you can relax and unwind. Now just tell me all about your day..." Talk about learning her lessons well! No only does she bring her leash when it's time to go out, but she brings her toys and puts them in my lap when she wants to play. I wonder if she can be taught to knit...

What She Said...

I have recently been reading a lot of blogs about the political situation in our country (the US!), and I seem to be at a loss for words about how I feel. I KNOW how I feel, but the Simple Witch says it so much better than I ever could.

El Museo del Real Felipe

Today we went to the city of Callao (pronounced Ky-yow': Ky, with the y pronounced like "sky") and visited the museum belonging to the Peruvian Army. It's actually a now defunct fort made of stone and mortar, built by the Viceroy José Antonio Manso de Velasco of Spain and name after King Phillip V of Spain. The construction began in 1747 and the whole thing took 27 years to complete. The architect was French. The fort is done in the shape of a pentagon with an exterior perimeter of 1580 meters with walls 2 1/2 meters thick (about 6 feet thick). It is complete with an exterior moat and drawbridges at the entrance and at each structure of importance. It's like something right out of the medieval times



Inside the walls of this fort are various towers and structures, also made of stone and mortar - the Queen's Bastion (a tower with a prison inside), the King's Tower complete with cannons on all sides, the Governor's House (I can't imagine living in this enormous dark place), and various buildings that housed troops and weapons of all manor.


(heading inside the Governor's house)

The Towers are just as I imagined the tower that Rapunzel was imprisoned in - filled with dark spiraling stairways, steep and treacherous to pass through, twisting and turning hallways lit with the occasional (now electric) torch, and dimly lit cells where prisoners were kept. They were only given bread and water twice a week, so I doubt that they had an over-crowding problem. There were no chains on the walls, so I guess the torture chamber must have been in the dungeon, if there is one.


(entrance to the Queen's Bastion)

(a view of the Queen's Bastion)


(this is a view of the King's Tower. You can see the little drawbridge at the very narrow principal entrance.)

The whole tour took about 2 hours and was well worth it, I thought. You can see more pictures, as well as these that I posted here, at this link and more photos here. I hope you enjoyed the little tour!

The Crochet Mojo is Back!

Whew! The Sambuca Jacket is done, except for weaving the ends in and sewing on a button. Today isn't that hot, probably only in the 80's, and I got my crochet mojo back. The sweater is in the wash now, soaking and then to be blocked and left to dry. Too hot to wear these days, but in a couple of months, it'll be perfect with my purple skirt and a light blouse.

I love this pattern. I think I need to spin enough yarn to make it in "Bundaflicka Tweed. The blue would be great! It's quick knit, but spinning enough yarn for it will take me a couple of months, I think. So, right after the teal laceweight if finished, I'll get started on the blue. I only have 4 more batts of the teal to go...laceweight is a killer to spin for me. I just don't have enough time in the day to get it all done at once. I love doing it, though!

A Walk Down the Block

I just came back from having lunch. Lunch here is always late, just like everything else is. Late is a way of life here in Peru and I had a meeting at work, so lunch was at 3 pm. I left work and went down the block to a new place (for me, anyway) called Pikalo. Nice inside, but hotter inside than outside. I ordered a cheese burger and an Inka cola. I ended up with a piece of hamburger meat and edam cheese on a bed of really good fries, and two salads. TWO salads? Yup. I looked for the hamburger bun, but there wasn't any. I waited for a bit, just in case they had forgotten to put the bun on the plate - gave them time to bring it, but I guess that's the was Pikalo burgers are served...bunless and with 2 salads. Didn't Hardees have this idea a few years ago? Low carb lunch, I guess, except for the mountain of potatoes underneath the meat.

On my way back to work, I took my time. Walking on the sidewalk in downtown Lima is always so interesting. There are always people who work in the stores out on the walk, hawking their wares like carnival criers. And there are the vendadores amulantes: vendors that have no fixed facility. They usually sell food, candies, and pencils, shine shoes, or sell things like watches and orange juice from a push cart that they take home every night.

Now that it's summertime, there are ice cream sellers all over the place. They have a bicycle that is set up with a big cooler on the front and they sell Popsicles and ice cream sandwiches out of them. Remember the musical truck that they sold ice cream from at home in the states? Here, Donofrio (a subsidiary of Nestle) gives it's ice cream sellers a squawker that sounds like a goose with a plugged nose...for me, anyway. It must be like sweet music to the ears of the children, though, because when the ice cream man peddles his bike up the sidewalk and squawks on his...umm...squawker, the kids turn out in dozens to get a Popsicle. Today, there were three yellow Donofrio squawkers on the corner, competing against 4 red Lamorghini ice cream sellers. They don't get squawkers. All they can do is tap a coin against their cooler lid.

Which brings me to another type of cold goody they are now selling on the street - marcianos. Marcianos are long plastic tubes filled with fruit smoothy and frozen. These are always homemade, and sold from a cooler that they strap around their shoulders. They have no squawker, either, so they yell, "MARCIANOS!" and beat a coin on the top of their cooler lids. There are dozens of these vendors walking up and down the sidewalks.

It's not recommended to buy homemade foods from street vendors. That's a wonderful way to get a gut bug, so I generally pass them up. So many vendors are clustered around the block where I work, not only because of the huge amount of students that we have, but also because Abancay Avenue is a major stop for the city buses that bring people to the central market. So, combine all those vendors screaming, squawking, hawking, and beating coins on their cooler tops with the tooting of bus and taxi horns and the constant buzzing of conversation of people passing by, and you've got a cacophony of noise...

...just another day in downtown Lima...

SOS - Send snow...

It's like 95 degrees here and humid. Wah. It's so hot I don't even have the energy to whine satisfactorily. Celeste has melted into a little hairy puddle on the floor. She solidifies after 9 pm and bounces back to life. The only one who has energy is O, and he doesn't have that much to spare. And me? I'm just thankful that we have an air-conditioned teacher's lounge at work. We suffocate in the classrooms, then crawl back to to teacher's lounge to recover for 10 minutes before heading back to the next classroom oven.

Please send snow.

Twilight? Get the Leash!

Well, the Terrible Twosome seem to have recovered from their binge night in the fridge. Both are back on their regular feed and no unscheduled trips to the potty or dangerous explosions happening at unexpected times. So, hopefully that won't happen again for a long time. The kitchen is mostly restocked after being ravaged, but I'm still out of most of my dry goods. We don't keep ready-made foods in the house, other than bread and crackers, but the need to cook didn't seem to slow things down at all in this instance. I may need to re-think what foods I'm keeping. I need anti-binge foods for both man and beast, heh.

While O was feeling crappy, I went to the movies by myself. There wasn't much to see, so I watched "Crespúsculo", or "Twilight". The name is in Spanish, but the movie is in English with Spanish subtitles. I've never heard of it, but the advertisement said that it was based on the book that has captured millions of readers. The movie was pretty good, but I didn't think it was adult movie fare. It was an interesting story, well done if you like vampires (and high school stories), but definitely a young adult or older teen flick. I'm not sure why they called it "Twilight", because these vampires came out in the daytime. I may have to get a cd of it to watch again. Sometimes I miss the most obvious things in movies. Last time I reviewed a movie on my blog, I was chastised, so today I'm not a movie critic. No spoiler here. So go see it. I wouldn't take my little kids to it, though.

Celeste has learned to bring her leash to us whenever she wants to go outside. What a good girl! No more silently staring at us with desperate eyes for her! She grabs her leash from the coffee table and drags it to wherever we are. If we are busy or distracted, she sings a little to us to get our attention. With the leash there, of course we go immediately to the bike path or park - no waiting. A relief for her and a relief for us, too.

Fresh disasters

I came home from work for lunch about an hour ago. I was just going to take Celeste out for a walk, then quickly go pay the house payment and then get some lunch. But when I opened the door - oh. Wow. From the smell of things, Celeste was having a bad day. Her crate was a mess and she was looking sad. I went into the bedroom to change my clothes and prepare to clean up the mess and found O on the bed, holding his stomach, feeling rotten, too.

It seems that both of them went on an eating binge last night, from stress, from boredom, from high spirits - who knows why - but together they indiscriminately ate their ways through the refrigerator and the kitchen cupboards until they couldn't find anything else. I found tuna fish cans, cracker wrappers, apple cores, lime rinds, carrot tops, bread crumbs, potato peelings, a wrapper from a package of spagetti, an empty package of mushroom gravy, and the empty wrapper from an entire 2-pound panetone in the trash and on the floor. O with a touchy gall bladder and Celeste with a stomach so sensitive that an extra piece of toast will give her the runs. Hmm. What a feast they apparently had.

I looked at my apartment as I came back from the bank, and I guess I need to spend a little time cleaning. The smell of disaster is lingering...

updates

We're having a heat wave....a tropical heat wave....

Before the heat descended upon us, I got about 90% of the sambuca jacket done. Then all my crochet mojo left me and I put it aside. Today I pulled it out of it's bag and took a couple of photos, still unfinished, but should be finished shortly.




I also did a little spinning, taking a break from teal laceweight. This is "Berry Harvest". It's merino with a little sparkle in it. There was only 4 ounces of it and I got about 380 yards of sock yarn out of it. Not too bad, and I can supplement it with some brown if I need to.

Smokin' Sambuca

Whoa! The Sambuca Jacket is moving along MUCH faster than I imagined it would! The prototype looks...well, eh...I knew that making a jacket with worsted weight yarn instead of the DK yarn that was called for would result in a bigger size, but I didn't allow THAT little detail to deter me for a second. I'm finished with the body of the sweater and am moving right along on the first sleeve. Even though the sweater will turn out to be bigger, it'll still be a wearable piece for me. I have planned to make "the good sweater" of some very nice alpaca yarn that my sister sent with me last year.

Of course, I have made a couple of little changes to the basic pattern...couldn't resist...I made it longer than the original is (mine is hip-length), and I left the lower edge wavy rather than straighten it out. And I have added a buttonhole rather than send away for a sweater clasp.

Gosh, I just had no idea this project would move as it has been going! Yeay for crochet! This afternoon I'll edit this to add pictures (after I get camera batteries.)

Set in motion

I have started a crocheted jacket called "Sambuca Jacket", pattern by Doris Chan. I have her book, Amazing Crocheted Lace, and it's in this book. This one will be the practice project to make sure I know what I'm doing, then I'll choose another yarn to make the "good" project from. The photo shown is not mine...mine is only partially done. I still have most of the body and the sleeves to do. But it's a top-down pattern, so I can try it on as I go. I hope there's not a lot of ripping out to be done.

And I've finally spun just over 600 yards of the teal romney, and am ready to cast on for my lace stole. After searching through the patterns, I have finally settled on SeaScape, the designer's photo is pictured below:

I plan to add crystal seed beads to it and am marking the chart to be sure I know what I'm doing. And, arrgh! I re-read the pattern as I was placing bead markers and, apparently, I need about 100 yards more of the laceweight, so I'll be continuing to spin while I'm still off work this week. Not quite as ready as I thought I was.

I wonder if this is a good way to start the new year...loading myself up with projects. At least I'll be busy!

Parties R (not) Us

Well, Christmas came and went in the blink of an eye. You know, we don't really celebrate here like I know how to celebrate Christmas. We have a tiny little tree, that's about a foot and a half tall, that I put on the coffee table. And the wreath on the inside of the door. And aside from that, nothing much else happens in this apartment. We have a little breakfast of panatone and tea or cocoa and then we spend the day preparing for the really big day, the 26th, which is O's birthday.

Last year, O's birthday party was my first try at a party in our home. It was also my last try. I hated it. People came with piles of uninvited guests (oh, my wife's whole family is in town so I brought them along, you don't mind, do you?), strangers took the opportunity to crash the party, nearly all of them got roaring drunk and broke everything they touched, and well...the bathroom ended up smelling like the very worst pig pen you've ever had the misfortune of passing by. And when the food ran out, they took over the kitchen and rifled through the cupboards to eat whatever wasn't made of glass or plastic...cardboard appeared to be fine, though. They all sang and drank and played the music as loud as possible until about 6 am, when they finally puked on the floor and the sofa and shuffled out the door. Those who had passed out finally came to and crawled away. I guess I can understand that people want to relax after a long work week, but cripes, they're like a bunch of 40-year-old teenagers who never got over being fascinated with the idea of getting wasted.

I view it as a basic lack of respect for the home owner and themselves. I have learned my lesson and made it clear that we aren't doing that anymore. This is my home, not a place that's available to for anyone to tear up nor is it a flop house for the seriously stupified. When people drop to talk to O, I offer the obligatory cookies and tea or soda, but what they really want is an afternoon of beer after beer after beer, so the visit is never a long one.

Anyway, this year, we decided to celebrate his birthday at the Chinese restaurant down the street. We got a couple of big long tables and enough Chinese food for 25 people and four 2-liter bottles of wine to split between us all and that was it. If they wanted to get drunk (and of course they did), the guests had to buy their own alcohol. But there was no sofa to fall on, no control over the music, and if someone broke the dishes, they had to pay for them. So the party went very smoothly. We had no stress over anything getting trashed and the whole event started at 2 pm, ended at 10:30 pm, and we went home to a quiet apartment and played with Celeste.

I'm sure it wasn't the biggest splash for the guests - they only got a good meal and a glass or two of wine with dinner, all the 7-Up they could drink, and music to dance to, but not loud enough to blow the eardrums out - since it ended so early by Peruvian party standards (someone asked if this was how birthday parties are in the US), but I consider it a major success for me. The two of us had a great time and still were able to enjoy the next day.

Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everybody! I wish I could have a white Christmas, but it's not to be this year. I have high hopes or next year. Or at least a white 4th of July. Anyway, what would Christmas be without a little song and Christmas cheer from Santa and the reindeer? I grin every time I watch this:



Have a great Christmas, however you choose to spend it, and here's my very best wishes to you for a wonderful New Year!

Love to all of you from Kathleen, O, and Celeste

An Update

I'm still spinning the teal Romney laceweight. I'm halfway through the 14 little batts, and have over 400 yards of yarn! I had no idea I would get that much! I've spun around 3 1/4 ounces so far. If I can stay consistent, I should end up with just about 800 yards of the yarn. That's plenty for a scarf!
And, we're halfway through finals for this cycle. I've got two more classes worth of written exams to finish grading tonight, and tomorrow the students do their autonomous learning projects and then Tuesday we have oral evaluations. My work is mostly done, and now it's the students' turn to show off what they've learned.

Starting December 24th, I've got 12 whole days off! I plan to do a major amount of spinning and knitting during that time, and some spring cleaning around the apartment. Our Siberian blizzard has nearly come to a close and it's time to clear out the last of the fuzz from the corners and behind the fridge.

I've decided to join a spin-a-long for the winter solstice, which apparently begins...ummm...today, I think. I have picked out a nice set of batts to spin up while I'm off work and of course, I'll finish the teal romney. Then I'll drift back to the fiber that Maggie sent me and spin on that for a while, too. I have almost an entire drop spindle of DK singles spun and need another spindle-full to ply it with. And a lot more to spin on still! With that, I still plan to knit a stole, but I'm still taking my time looking for just the right pattern for this special yarn.

But uuuufff...while teaching this month, I got hit in the head with a cold bug, and I'm in the midst of a head cold and a headache. It's a little hard to get in the mood for Christmas right now. I'm having a bit of a time dealing with working in the inner city, too. It's a good thing I'll have time away from there starting next week. I did put my wreath on the door, but on the inside, because things have a habit of walking away around here. I don't want my wreath to sprout legs and run off.

It might seem like I'm a little bit down, but really, I ask you:
Who could be down with a face like this looking up at you?

There 8 Things Meme

I thought this was a good one, so I'm doing it:

My 8 favorite foods:
1. Chocolate
2. Grapefruit
3. Mangoes
4. Hot chili soup
5. Cinnamon rolls
6. Sharp cheddar cheese
7. Gourmet veggie pizza with creamy garlic sauce
8. Salads

8 Things I Did Today:
1. Checked email and new blog posts
2. Went to work
3. Taught English to my morning Basic 12 class
4. Took Celeste out for her 6 am walk and potty break
5. Took Celeste out for her 30 minutes of running, walking, playing at midday
6. Went back to teach my afternoon classes
7. Spun on the teal laceweight
8. Came home from work at 11 pm and crashed.

8 Favorite Stores:
1. Wal-Mart (I wish this was in Peru)
2. Christopher & Banks (this one, too!)
3. Metro Supermarket
4. Amazon.com
5. Etsy.com
6. Ripley's Department Store
7. Saga Falabella (department store)
8. Ewe Count (my LYS in Cheyenne)

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Papa John's Pizza 3 blocks from my apartment and the menu is in English
2. The Texas Roadhouse, Cheyenne, WY
3. San Dong Chinese Restaurant, Cheyenne, WY
4. Sanford's Grub and Pub, Cheyenne, Wy
5. El Rinconcito Ferrañafano, Lima - Peru
6. Puro Tumbes, Lima - Peru
7. Olive Garden
8. The Armadillo (LaSalle, Colorado)

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. Sundays
2. Spinning on my current project
3. Knitting a sweater with my own handspun
4. Having lunch with a friend
5. Craft shows in Colorado with my sister
6. Laughing with my sister
7. Having a good long walk with Celeste
8. A cold glass of water after a long hot day

8 Things I Like To Do With Family:
1. Worship
2. Play board games
3. Camping
4. Music (play, sing, listen)
5. Go to the beach
6. Play in the snow
7. Sit quietly and read
8. Walks and bike rides

8 Things on My Wish List:
1. A visa for O so we can go home
2. Two fiber animals
3. Time to knit more
4. Time for riding, spinning and reading
5. A place to get out of town and breathe
6. Another dog like Sunny
7. A good job in the US
8. A feeling of belonging

A snow fix in high summer

We have no snow here. It's summertime, and it seems so strange to have Christmas in 80 degree weather. So here's my little snow fix for December:



I found this on Youtube, and the title is "Bailey, The Unknown Reindeer." I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Whoever is Bailey's owner, I thank you for sharing your dog and your snow with us!

First snow of the summer and other nonsense

Yup, it's summertime here in the southern hemisphere. Finally. Celeste is in the final throws of divesting herself of her winter coat, and so we're also in the final weeks (yes, I said weeks) of the semi-annual Siberian blizzard. We have Celeste fuzz everywhere, in spite of vacuuming and sweeping up daily and daily brushing with a shedding brush. It's tapering off now, the fuzzy undercoat is off her neck, shoulders, and back, but we still have a good portion of dog-butt fuzz to endure. The brush doesn't do much for the guard hair coat, which is STILL coming off, so I simply pull it out by the handfull when we go for our walks. Her new lighter summertime jacket is slick, clean and soft - just right for a blue-eyed girl in summer. Not a floral print dress, but just as pretty.

It took my mother-in-law almost 5 years to speak to me. For a while, she simply refrained from acknowledging that I existed, then later she would nod to me on occasion. Once, when we invited O's parents to travel with us to Cusco (I paid all the expenses), she told someone that I was a "friend" that was traveling along with them. I have never been invited to her home, and have never been acknowledged as part of anything...

...until last weekend, when O picked me up from work and she was in the back seat of our car with two other of O's friends. What a surprise! As I opened my mouth to say hello to her, she suddenly grabbed me and hugged me and fairly screamed, "Hola mi hijita!" (hello my little daughter!). I was so caught off guard that I couldn't reply for a few seconds. That was the last thing she said to me for the rest of the day, and I have the feeling that it was more for the benefit of O and his friends than anything else.

O's father is here in Lima. He is an elderly man that is reaping the results of his misspent youth. He's a 75-year-old diabetic. Many Peruvians have diabetes. I think they have a genetic tendency for it, but I also think that diet and lifestyle figure prominently, too. The diet here consists of very few veggies, fish, meat, rice and rice and rice, with bread and pasta and sodas and prodigious amounts of beer and other alcoholic beverages. A meal isn't a meal around here with out rice, even if potatoes and pasta are served. And there is always beer. I have been told by several that real communication cannot occur with out drinking beer, because then the people are relaxed and they can speak without holding back. So, at every meeting, every working lunch, every family get-together, every child's birthday party, first communion, or walk in the park, there is beer. And when the beer flows, it doesn't stop until sometime the next morning. With a diet like that, it's not hard to see how one could become a diabetic. Or an alcoholic. Which is what O's father is: a diabetic alcoholic that goes out of control from time to time when the alcohol cravings become too strong or when he simply gets bored.

I have a lot more to say about this, having lived with an alcoholic before, but it's more rant than anything else, so I'll stop talking about it while I am still off the soapbox.

I'm still spinning the teal laceweight...and probably will be for a few weeks more. Only 7 more little batts to go! I'm averaging about 100 yards of two ply every week, so I should be ready to knit the shawl in another 3 or 4 weeks. There IS light at the end of the tunnel! I'm getting my beads sorted in anticipation!

Good Reads

In the last two weeks, I've been reading on the bus, to and from work. Last week, I read "Deception Point", by Dan Brown. Excellent read. I loved it. I'm a Dan Brown fan. I've read three of his books: The daVinci Code, Angels and Demons, and now, Deception Point. Gosh, I hope he comes out with a new one soon that's just as good.


This week, I read Anita Diamant's "The Red Tent". I remember when it first in 1997, and there was a huge hubbub about it. I steered away from it because of all the fuss that was made. Now I've finally read it, and in a way, I'm sorry that I didn't read it sooner. In another way, I'm glad I waited. I'm in a better way to appreciate it than I would have been in 1997. My life was way different then than it is now.

Over the past several months, I've considered donating some books to the library at the institute where I work. I have limited space in my little apartment, and I have read nearly all of the books that I brought from home or bought from Amazon.com (there are about 60 of them now). I'm just about ready for some new books to read and really need the space, so some of the books really should go and I'm sure that the library would be happy to take them...

...but my books are like close friends of mine. Even though I may not read them for another few years, I love them. They comfort me. They speak to me. They take me places when I need to escape from the everyday crap that life in the concrete jungle presents. So I haven't been able to bring myself to donate any of them to the library yet.

A few pics

Well, I've had a long, dry, uninspired spell. Actually, I'm still spinning on the teal Romney fiber, and am working on the 3rd 100 yard skein of lace weight. I like it, and it's not boring, but it's taking a loooong time, especially since I'm working 6 days a week and some odd hours.

It's coming up on Christmas, and I have some traditional Peruvian Christmas ornaments and a little nativity scene. Last year, I showed you my nativity scene, so this year, I'll show you my little New Year's house:




I'm not totally up on the significance of the house and all it's details, but it seems to be a very popular thing for Christmas.

I also have my Madonna and Child, in a traditional ceramic form:


Again, I'm not up on the significance of the form (maybe the Black Madonna?), but I liked her, so I brought her home.

Coming this weekend - more Romney spinning, hopefully some photos from the local artisan market, and some finished projects.

The Painted Pigs

Well, okay piggy banks...

10 Random Things

A meme stolen from The Knotty Mouse. Participate if you feel moved to. I'd love to read about your random-ness!

1. Magazines subscribed to - none. I'd love to get Interweave Knits and Interweave Crochet, but the cost is enormous and I only get 3 of the 4 issues in a year. Someone along the way in the international postal system must also enjoy them.

2. Aside from knitting, my favorite pasttimes are - spinning, watching movies, reading, walking with the dog, hiking in the mountains (although I don't get to do that anymore)..

3. If I were not a teacher (insert your own profession), I would be - goatherd or a shepherd. I'm very interested in learning more about sheep and I love goats!

4. I am irrationally worried about - the economy and getting my husband to immigrate.

5. If I were the opposite sex - I'd probably have a sex change.

6. The thing I miss most about childhood is - playtime. I want more time to play!

7. I like to collect - ceramics and pottery, although I don't have much of that. Somehow it always gets broken or given to someone else or lost...

8. Though I’ve never been there, I feel inexplicably homesick for - nowhere. I want to go somewhere that I've been.

9. I’ve never really liked to eat - Fish. They smell bad and they taste bad, too. I feel the same way about lamb and mutton. They taste just like they smell. Bleh. So while I am mezmorized by fish in an aquarium and I love spending time with sheep and goats, I have no desire whatsoever to eat them. I love my dog, too, but she doesn't smell good enough to eat, either.

10. When I have nightmares, they’re usually about - running and running from something or someone, although I never really am sure who or what it is. Then the windows rattle even though there's no wind, and I wake up.

What's the Haps?

WOOOT!!! Look what came in the mail the other day:



This is the only Nicky Epstein book that I have, and it's a beauty! I didn't realize that it was a hardback until it arived and, at first, I thought "Great - a coffee table book," with some disappointment. But after cracking the cover open, I realized that I was wrong.

Wow. The patterns are great. The pictures are great. The inspiration is non-stop. It's true that there are patterns in this book that I'll probably never make, at least in the form that they are presented, but what great ideas!

And I have been spinning some lace weight singles.



I plan to use them in a shawl. Originally I was spinning for the Mystery Stole #4, but decided against it. I'm not up to spinning 1100 yards of laceweight all in the same year, but I do think I can pull off 600 yards. I've done about 100 yards so far in this teal romney and silk, with another spindle filled with about 150 yards. I've started on the second spindle today, but only have about 25 yards on it so far.

So the shawl that I'm spinning for now is the Garden of Alla shawl. I haven't decided if I will edge it in a contrasting color or not, but I've got 12 more batts worth of time to think about it before I have to make a decision. I don't really like the edging on the shawl shown in the pattern.

I'm thinking about beading it with clear crystal beads, too. They're supposed to look like raindrops on the yarn.

I'm still spinning on the Bundaflicka tweed that I was going to use for the Mystery Stole, but I'm re-thinking the project for it.

Couldn't resist this one...

more the engrish!