Wipe out!

I'm still in Washington, hoping to head home tomorrow. If I do, I can transfer to another "bicycle" and finish the Tour de Fleece. If not, then mine will be one of those heartbreak cases of "so near, and yet so far." Oh, not that I came so near my actual goals, as there is NO chance of finishing either of them. Spinning an entire Shetland fleece on my miniSpinner and four ounces of wool/alpaca in laceweight on my Jenkins Aegean was just too ambitious, but if it weren't for setting goals, I wouldn't have spun as much as I have!

Yesterday in my dad's hospital room, I plyed as much of my Shetland singles as would fit on my one available bobbin. I didn't bring my niddy-noddy, so that project is stalled until I get home.

I've also been spindling right along on the "Bubblegum" wool/alpaca roving. The cop is getting big enough that my laceweight single is having trouble holding together, and my poor Olive dropped to the hard hospital floor a few times yesterday. Today (my dad's home now) I decided to remove this cop and start a new one in the interest of keeping my singles consistently fine.

Proof that I washed my car this morning!

When I pulled out arm #1, my heart dropped like a stone. Two days from the finish line, 400 miles from home, I discovered that my bike is totaled!

I think she can be glued. I hope she can be glued!

That's all the spinning for now . . .

On the road again....

Yesterday Brian and I rode with Rick to a day-long appointment at the coast; Rick worked on six horses while Brian and I played on the beach.

Today I'm driving alone to Spokane (400 miles) to see my dad, who had open heart surgery to replace a valve on Monday. I'm taking along my Tour de Fleece projects and my laptop in case there's time for either. Brian will go to work with his dad; the animals and garden will get short shrift for a few days.

Zoom-zoom, from . . .

Preferential treatment

Before getting into the subject of this post, I want to thank all of you for your kind words and sympathy regarding the loss of my friend and another acquaintance to breast cancer. I attended my friend's memorial service yesterday evening, and was truly awed and humbled by the portrait of faith, grace, love and service revealed in my friend's life; what an incredible woman! Oh, that I may be a fraction of the blessing to others that she was....

In the last chicken post, I reported that the pullets are now in with the mature hens except for Perch, who was in protective custody. We kept her cage in the run during the day and in the henhouse at night so she could be part of the flock, but it was clear she wanted out of the cage. But when we let her out, she immediately became a target – not just of the "big girls," but also of the other pullets, who were the ones who bloodied her in the first place. When we came running to intervene, she would meet us at the fence, obviously looking to humans for safety. That gave me an idea. Why not let her free-range? She would have room to exercise and freedom to scratch and forage without being molested, but would probably hang out around the run to be near others of her kind.

"Hi there. I think I like this!"

"Hey, what's she doing out there?"

"Mmm; cantaloupe!"

The color around her eyes has improved since I took this photo.

At night we still put her in a cage within the coop. One evening Brian put her back in the coop without the protection of the cage, and she was attacked again. So for now, Perch will continue with nighttime confinement and daytime liberty – and a growing spot in our hearts for her trust in us!

Tour de Fleece continues through this coming Sunday. I did two test-plies of Browning's singles and still need to knit them into mini-swatches before I can continue, so spinning has been done on spindles only lately. Today I finished the lovely blue fiber on the one (there's still plenty of pink to spin!).

That's it for today from . . .

A one-two punch

Yesterday I learned that a friend of mine, someone I met at our homeschooling co-op who later moved away, has died. She had battled breast cancer but I thought she had it beat, as has everyone else I've known personally. This morning another woman I know passed away from the same disease. She and her family built a local dressage landmark, a world-class facility at which I've been fortunate to compete many times. In fact the photo at the top of my dressage blog was shot at DevonWood Equestrian Centre.

My world feels a little wobbly today, and I now feel compelled to participate in next year's Relay For Life. I will be walking for Joyce and Ginny.

That's it for now from . . .