I've been dividing my time and energy between the inside and the outside of the house. Working on flower beds: weeding, fertilizing, planting, mulching...and watering, watering, watering. It has been very dry for the past two weeks by Michigan standards.
So, today I decided to do a little rain dance:
That's my trusty squeegie on an extension pole which I use to do the windows that are out of reach. I don't do ladders, especially extension ladders. Here's a little closer view.
I didn't wash all of the windows, just those on the south and east sides of the house because they were already in the shade.
Now back inside and ready to start dinner, I thought to check the weather report:
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN.
.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT
THERE
IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS AFTER 2 AM. SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED
WITH ANY STORM THAT DEVELOPS. SOME OF THE STRONGER STORMS WILL BE
CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND GUSTS TO 30 KNOTS AS THEY TRACK TO THE
NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH. THESE STORMS WILL OCCUR IN ADVANCE OF A COLD FRONT.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY
THERE
IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS LATE FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT.
ANY THUNDERSTORM THAT OCCURS FROM LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY
NIGHT WILL POSE A RISK OF PRODUCING SEVERE WEATHER. A WARM FRONT IS
FORECAST TO LIFT NORTH ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY AND SOUTHERN GREAT LAKES
REGION SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. WARM...MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR LIFTING
ACROSS THIS FRONT WILL PROVIDE A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS. A COLD FRONT
IS FORECAST TO TRACK INTO THE STATE LATE MONDAY WHICH WILL BE THE
PRIMARY DRIVER FOR THE CHANCE OF STORMS LATE IN THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND.
It's uncanny, but washing the windows works every time. I think I'll save the windows on the north and west side of the house for the next dry spell.
Still working on the house project. Everytime I think about it this comes to mind:
Yep, you're welcome.
Every remaining part of the project has multiple steps that have to happen in order. The following list is more for me than anything you might want to read:
Yesterday the guy was here to measure for the drapes. Now I'm waiting for my call to be returned to get the final price quote and order the drapes.....before the 15% off sale ends tomorrow.
Finally got the carpet cleaning scheduled for Monday. Was hoping to have it done this week, but the guy's truck was in a collision last weekend. The carpet needs to be cleaned before the looms can move upstairs. Must move 3 big boxes of ds's stuff to the garage for him to pick up this weekend as part of emptying out that room.
I've sent a baby shower gift, RSVP'd to one wedding shower and a different wedding, still have RSVP to yet another wedding shower. Must buy gifts for the last three. (Expensive summer in the gift department.)
Purchased a couple of outdoor plants this morning. Weeded two flower beds. Have about 4 yards of mulch to spread this weekend (but dh will do most of that...as long as his back holds out). Also have to turn over the soil where the impatiens go, then purchase 5 flats of impatiens, which will then need to be planted. Must make a list of perennials that need to be refurbished....one I know for sure is the Lamium needs some fresh plants added to that bed. And the kitty's catnip plant was stunted by the frost...so perhaps a new catnip plant from the farmers market tomorrow.
Windows and screens need to be washed. preferably before the drapes arrive.
I'm sure all of you have similar lists. It seems like many of the blogs I read are in the process of "tossing the house" this spring...whether they planned to or not (thinking of poor Jean who was flooded by the upstairs neighbors.)
I have been back to weaving on the Summer & Winter Towels which were interrupted by the painting and carpeting project. I think there's enough warp for one more towel. It would be good to cut that warp off the loom before it gets moved upstairs.
And there has been knitting:
First pair of socks I''ve done in awhile. The photo captures the colors well (at least on my monitor). I guess they are kind of loud, aren't they? Oh well, they are entertaining to knit.
The gardening season is well ahead of normal here....at least by 3 weeks.
That's a lot of rosebuds for May in Michigan.
The peony plants are little stunted, but there are plenty of buds.
And we will soon have irises opening up, but it seems I lost that photo. I'll post a picture of the blooms when they pop.
The first shade is the shade that came with the lamp. I almost passed on the lamp because I couldn't see the lamp for the shade. Once I asked them to let me try some other shades on the lamp, it was possible to see the potential.
So I bought the lamp, then went next door and purchased the shade that you see in the second photo.
Once home I began to wonder if it was just me.....but your comments have affirmed my decision.
Finally found a table lamp for the living room. But I have to ask you, which of these lampshades looks like it belongs on the lamp?
It was really hard to find a lamp of decent quality and in a design that I like. The fact that it doesn't have a glass shade to cut me is just icing on the cake.
Still working on window treatments. The ones I wanted won't work for a variety of reasons which dh, ever the mechanical engineer, so astutely pointed out. So I have fabric samples coming in the mail.
Still spinning naturally colored cotton:
On the wheel
from raw cotton hand carded into rolags
And still spinning the sliver on the support spindles:
Here is the most recent bit of cashmere spun on a support spindle:
Which has me wondering why I bought a 5 gram baggie of raw cashmere?
And one more imponderable, the sentence that I clearly heard as I was waking from a dream this morning: "Of course we don't usually hold classes to teach people how to be clumsy...." That's all I remember of the dream.....was I inquiring about such a class (which I clearly don't need...I've been plenty clumsy lately without instruction)? Or perhaps I was seeking a venue to teach my newly acquired clumsiness to others? Does anyone else have auditory only dreams?
I'm still organizing things and moving stuff from one place to another, but I have managed to get some spinning and plying done. First up is the spindle spun cotton:
Here is some on the spindle and the hank is about 120 yds. of 2 ply which is about the grist of 8/2 unmercerized cotton weaving yarn. The hank weighs 10 grams.
It is, of course, naturally colored Peruvian cotton spun from sliver, purchased at The Spinning Loft.
Here's a close up:
I have a lot more of this to spin. Am not sure if I'll stick with the support spindle or move to the wheel. I do have another hank of the sliver in a different color. Perhaps I will just do the other color on the wheel and finish this one on the support spindle. Stay tuned for more on that decision later. The end goal for the yarn is weaving.
Over the years I've accumulated numerous small bags of cashmere in natural colors to spin. There is Persian cashmere, Mongolian Cashmere, cashmere from China, and also from India. There is also some of unknown provenance. I have been spinning up the bits of cashmere with the idea of combining all of them in a warp for a luxury hand spun, hand woven scarf. Below is the latest batch of cashmere spun and plied on the wheel.
It's about 230 yds of two ply, spun from 25 grams of sliver.
Here's a closeup of that naturally colored fiber.
And, now here's some naturally colored fiber on four paws that really made me chuckle. Hope it does the same for you:
