sad sad evening

yesterday evening i had to put my sweet shotsie to sleep.

my only solace is that she was not in any pain.

we got shotsie when she was 8 weeks old, november 1994, the day before thanksgiving.

rebecca was in kindergarten.

shotsie did not think she was a dog, she was a grand dame. and the best watchdog ever. rebecca and i never had to be afraid living alone in lake placid while shotsie was there to protect us.

shotsie was not a licking dog, but when she got in the mood, watch out! she would pin you down and lick your face til you begged for mercy laughing!

good night sweet angel, i will miss you more than words could ever say.

worth the wait

3 years ago, right before rhinebeck, i caved and ordered a wee robin from gil at robin wheels thinking i'd beat the rhinebeck rush.




lookie what mr. postman brought me last week.

the cutest little wheel. maybe cute isn't the proper adjective, the maple is frickin GORGEOUS!

ze front view

ze profile

ze rear view

i love the laminated wishbone of cherry and maple.

but the robin and i were having a wee problem. not being used to the bobbin lead, the roving was either zipping out of my hand, or i was frantically trying to hold on too tightly, or the yarn was breaking breaking breaking.

then the the calm soothing voice of the mother of all things fiber entered my head. ah judith, every class with you is worth it's weight in gold.

i remembered judith saying if you want less take up, wrap the bobbin with some foam insulation for pipes.

less than 2 bucks at the home depot.

measure the shaft of the bobbin, transfer the measurement to the foam, and cut. it even has sticky stuff on the edges. the foam for 3/4" copper pipes fits the wee robbin perfectly.

bobbin lineup, all snug in their insulated jackets.

hello lovah.

gratuitous dog photo. shimmo at less than 6 months is almost as big as madaket. his paws are much bigger than hers. he is exactly what i hoped, a big old honking black lab :-)

yet another

what was i thinking?
my ddil natalie's usta tennis team won the southeast regionals this spring, and natalie asked me to babysit for gingersnap when the team competed for the finals in las vegas.

of course! i don't get to see gingersnap nearly enough.

the night before our trip, i was frantically trying to figure out what knitting to pack besides the lighthouse gansey socks already on the needles.

you know, because watching a one year old is so relaxing, and lends so much free time for knitting.

hahhhahahahhahhaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
the only knitting i got done was on the first leg of the plane trip, before i met up with natalie and gingersnap.

holey moley, babies are exhausting. how quickly one forgets...

ah las vegas, no offense, but once was enough for me.

go pensacola!

after the final match, we drove out to red rock canyon park. wow, we LOVED the park!

this adorable little chipmunk lives outside the visitor center.

the scenery is spectacular.

we were way too pooped to hike, and drove the 13 mile loop through the park.

reminds me a lot of mesa verde.

isn't my gingersnap a sweetie?

i am so lucky, if i could pick any girl out of the whole wide world for my son, it would be natalie.

my knitting mojo was left in las vegas, the second sock just was just finished today.

knitspot anne's lighthouse gansey socks from knitty. cherry tree hill sock yarn, nantucket red.

size 0 plymouth bamboo dpns. as always anne's pattern was a delight to knit.

if they look big on me, they will be a christmas present for someone with slightly larger tootsies :-)

sometimes in life

a little begging will get you everywhere...

the second i saw this gorgeous roving on my friend lisa souza's blog, i begged her to sell me a bump.

she graciously did.

and i spun it up laceweight on the van eaton fold/n/tote.

look at the sheen from the merino/silk combination.

the most perfect squishy yarn i ever spun :-)

rebecca drove down from gainesville to pick up shimmo. i'm going to babysit for my grand-daughter while my ddil plays in the usta tennis tournament in las vegas this weekend. tom and greg are not to be trusted in the puppy department.

rajah says, what the h*ll am i doing in the dog crate?

nasty in here.

much better...