I spent the day Monday with my brother. We each drove a distance about halfway between our homes, and sat at a picnic table at a Metropark near Brighton, Michigan, and talked. Hours and hours of talking and we’re not done yet, but it was really satisfying.

Eric knows me better than anyone in the world. He and I have been through some very hard times, the biggest being the deaths of our father and his first wife, Kelly. I don’t recommend going through that at all, but it sure gave me a really powerful connection to Eric. I’m grateful for that relationship.

I’m at a point in my career where I need to make some decisions about how I spend my time. Scheduling has always been hard for me but I really have enough I could reasonably do for my work, to fill two lives. I need to make hard choices and now is when I start.

The one I know already: I will not be supervising computer labs at Foster Center in the fall, though I’ve done computer work for them since around 1994-95. I also will be cancelling smaller projects that just involve too much commute time and too little income-earning time, even though I enjoy those projects.

And then I have to keep going… to look harder at what is left (teaching knitting/art at an increasing number of locations, teaching computers one day a week, dyeing yarn, designing knit patterns, singing) and make hard choices about what I will concentrate on and what will be cut out this time around.

So we chatted and I’m still not sure where I’m headed… but I know how I will spend this week. That’s all, but it’s a start.

Knitting Update?

I have not knit a stitch in 2 days, though I touch yarn and I plan projects. I have a couple pair of socks and a tank top that are on the needles in current rotation. Tomorrow I spend time with my beloved Goddaughter, Sara (Senior in college this September), which is high priority… and also is knitting time. That will be lovely.

Oh… and Sarah Peasley has finished an Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket, out of my Cushy Colorsport Yarn. It’s really really cute. Maybe you will want to check out her blog and see it (among her other wonderful projects).

What a crazy-busy few weeks I have had! Sunday night I got home around 6:00pm and actually had some time where I could choose what to do. I picked swiss chard and tomatoes from the garden and made a pleasant dinner, Brian and I took a walk in the neighborhood, and I fussed more with getting my “new” laptop to function right. Also, Brian and I rehearsed a little, and I chatted by phone with my friend April who no longer lives across the street.

Now I’m at it again, on the couch with laptop on my lap well after midnight, falling asleep at the keyboard. I’ve taken photos in the last few days but my Adobe PhotoShop had gone buggy and would not start up. I un-installed it yesterday but then my CD player did not work (did not even show up in the “my computer” screen) so then I could not reinstall it. Fortunately after 2 days of flaky CD player, it is miraculously working again for no apparent reason. I reinstalled it but have had no time to edit anything yet.

Tomorrow/Monday i see my brother Eric. I have a scheduled class around dinnertime in Lansing but I’ll get several hours in with my brother. We often drive to Brighton, a town about halfway between our homes, and talk forever. There is a wonderful metropark there and we’ll meet there.

I am looking forward to most of a day without work tomorrow. For now, I need to be somewhat boring and just sign off. Thanks for sticking with me.

After four days at the Evart Dulcimer Fun Fest (acoustic music festival) I came back to a wildly busy schedule. I’ve taught every day starting Monday, at least one session, except the day I had a dance performance and rehearsal.

I’ve had anywhere from two to six folks per class. I will teach Sat/Sun as well, and am waiting to hear what the registration is for my Monday night class, too. This is a most unusual July, classes just do not usually “go” like this in hot weather. I’m loving it.

For locals, Brian and I (as The Fabulous Heftones are singing at Altu’s Ethiopian Cuisine in East Lansing tonight. Concert is 6:30-8:30, no cover charge. The food is incredible, whether you like mild or spicy, vegetarian or meat. There is information on the food on her website as well as the menu items up for your perusal. There is also a map if your have not been there before.

We would love to have your company for this show if you can make it. If not, we’ll be thinking of you!

I love quotations, many of you know that. I just accidentally found out that the Wikipedia organization has a place called Wikiquote. It has a few dozen languages up and running right now. The English version is here:

http://en.wikiquote.org

It has a section on proverbs which interests me a lot. And then there are sections on quotes from specific people (Helen Keller, Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, and more)… and on subjects, such as Art. Here’s a bit from the art page:

• Chagall, Marc
• “All colours are the friends of their neighbours and the lovers of their opposites.”

• Audette, Derek R.
• “The entire ‘my art is better than your art’ thing really gets under my skin. The fact of the matter is: Your art IS better than my art… at being what it is. So what? It just so happens that my art is better than your art, at being what it is.”

• Klee, Paul
• “Art does not reproduce the visible; it makes things visible.”

• Davies, John Steven III
• “Art washes away from our souls the dust which is everyday life.”

Kathleen’s Vegetarian Kitchen has a (July 22) recent post on making your own tortillas. I love tortillas, both wheat and corn, and can’t eat either at this point. I’ve thought about making my own with alternative flours and now I’m inspired. (I don’t miss regular bread at all, but I really miss tortillas.)

Kathleen shows a photo of women making tortillas that she took when she was in Mexico. I found the article fascinating and loved that photo. Maybe you would like to peek, too.

Today was very, very good. I have a plump gratitude list today:

Computers

I got my “new” laptop (5 weeks) to synchronize with my palm device, while using the computer as a “Standard User.” It turns out I had to “run as Administrator,” both the synchronizing program (HotSync) and the Palm Desktop/calendar with addresses. For a while now I’ve had to switch users to be the administrator, to check my calendar on the laptop.

It still seems unneccessary to type a password every  time I start my calendar. However, if I can view the calendar and my email program in the same user without logging out and in and out again to switch between those two most-used programs, I’m at the point where now I can at least function on the new machine. It has been about five weeks and now the most important function is working. Whew! I was getting tired of all that.

Relationships

My Goddaughter, Sara, asked to spend time with me this week. We went out for sushi on Monday (see photo), followed by a short walk, a stop at Starbucks (tea for me) and a stop at Barnes and Noble bookstore in East Lansing. She asked to get together again Tuesday to listen to music she wanted to share with me; and a refresher on knitting socks. This really makes me happy.

I adore Sara and we just enjoy each other. I think we both need to know that someone really really loves us exactly as we are. I’m lucky in that I have several folks who love me that way… but you can’t make a relationship have this level of connectedness. It is just plain lucky when a connection works this well… and I celebrate my luck.

Weather/Gardening Tasks

Temperatures are running in the low- to mid-80’s F this week, too hot for many people but exactly my sort of weather. The grass is looking dry all around town, for the first time yet this season. I enjoyed watering my plants (they were fairly desperate for a drink and I hadn’t watered them since last Thursday). They perked up so well!

Food/Garden Produce

I cooked dinner tonight, using some zucchini and yellow summer squash I picked up at Horrocks, a local produce/garden center. I added organic basil from a friend’s farm and a tomato from my very own plant. I also added part of a leek, cut in very tiny slivers, and some fine-ground black pepper, sauteed in olive oil. At the very last minute I added a can of beans (pintos, though I really wanted chick peas/garbanzos). This special summer meal was very satisfying on a bed of buckwheat pasta (soba). This was a treat.

Knitting

I’m unstuck on a project. Whew. I have a block of hours tomorrow so I can do some knitting before I go out. I also have had a series of just excellent classes and there is no end in sight!

Teaching

I forgot to take photos of CityKidz Knit! program but trust me, we’re doing great. I had two kids knitting small items to hand-felt in a tray of soapy water, one knitting a doll from a pattern (she is one of my oldest, most loyal knitters and has followed patterns before), one elementary-aged girl starting her first piece in the round, a tube which will be a purse, on circular needles (she will felt this). I also had a young lady who tried for the first time to knit with two colors on one row, stranded knitting flat. I love my Kidz!

Also I had a three-person, all-day class at Yarn Garden making mini-Turkish Socks (with all the features of a full-sized adult sock). We had a great time indeed. On the right is a photo of my sock and the three participants’ socks. Adorable, no?

Dancing

The Habibi Dancers (including myself as Eudora) are dancing at a cultural diversity event at the Allen Street Farmers Market Wednesday. I think we go on at 5:30, maybe 6pm. I’m really happy that I’m able to dance with the girls this time. I just tend to work on nights/weekends and usually that is when the troupe performs. I’m going to have a blast.

(For the record, if you are local and interested I will be dancing at 6:30 pm and 8pm at New Aladdin’s restaurant in Frandor, the 3rd Friday of August, which falls on the 17th. I love this assignment and will be giving it my all with another girl in the Habibi Dancers’ troupe.)

Sleep

I’m still really really tired every time I sit still. However, Wednesday I have no appointments until we dance (dinnertime) so I get to give myself a morning to sleep in. Cross your fingers for me that I don’t get any unwanted phone calls, OK? Sitting here right now I am on the verge of sleeping at the desk with my keyboard as a pillow… time to tuck it in.

I’ve slept in a tent three different sessions this month. I’m so happy to be back to my own wonderful house and my own bed and the best super-deep claw-footed tub in the world. The porch is extra wonderful and the hammock absolutely perfect, after time sleeping in a tent and dirty feet and cold nights.

The good part is that we go camping to be with great people. During the day when I’m usually relatively comfortable and the sun shines, I don’t mind it much. I prefer camping with flush toilets rather than porta-potties (would absolutely refuse to go if it were more primitive than that). Two of the three sessions had running water, and I was pleased with that part.

I took photos but after two days gone then two home then four days gone, I am hopelessly behind again on photos. I just wanted to check in with you folks and let you know that things are coming to you slowly because I’ve been beyond internet accessibility.

Until the camping photos are processed… for my garden-photo fans, here is a photo of my very own tomatoes… “grown on my own farm.” They are here on my one potted tomato bush on the back step landing. As of today I have picked four tomatoes. One went to Mom, one to Eric and Diana, one Brian ate, and the other is yet to become dinner, probably Tuesday night. I don’t enjoy fresh tomatoes but I like them cooked. I bought summer squash and zucchini so probably will do a saute with those and the tomato (and fresh organic basil from a friend’s farm).

I’ll be back as I have time to catch up. I tell you, travel is very enjoyable but it sure makes my regular life slow down to a halt!!! Thank you for hanging in there.

I tell you what… knitting is not getting any less popular if my life is any indication. This summer, for the first time, I’m having a majority of classes actually “go…” and not just one person as in previous summers… sometimes two, three, even four. I even have a special class coming up that has ten already signed up! I’m delighted.

It’s very exciting for me to stay busy teaching. I love teaching more than anything else I do.

I started a First-Time Toe Up Socks class at Rae’s Yarn Boutique last week (two students), and then the next day when I was at Rae’s another person came in hoping for a sock class. She will sign up when we get the next round scheduled.

On Monday (7/23), I will be teaching Design Your Own Turkish Socks at Yarn Garden in Charlotte (Michigan, 30 minutes from Lansing). That class has three or four signed up… during the day, on a “workday.” I’m delighted.

On July 27, a Friday, we’re having a Pizza and Polymer Clay Buttons party/class at Yarn Garden, as well. I think that will be a blast! It’s a shorter session than I usually do, which may mean that some folks who can’t often get away for a long session, might come for dinner and buttons and socializing. Or so we hope. So far we have so many interested that my head is spinning.

During the day, 11-4, on Saturday 7/28, I will be teaching ColorJoy Stole at Yarn Garden. This class includes a lot of guidance on how to combine yarns when they do not match (on purpose, for a richer texture) as well as knitting instruction for completing a stole.

On Sunday, July 29, I will be teaching my standard (longer, no pizza but more class time) Polymer Clay Buttons and Beads class, a four hour session from 12:30-4:30. This one will be at Threadbear Fiberarts on the West Side of Lansing (just north of the 496 Waverly exit. I often get travelers when I teach at this shop… sometimes from the very north of lower Michigan and sometimes from Toledo Ohio, or other spots requiring real effort to get there. I’m honored by this far-reaching and dedicated group of students. I look forward to this session very much.

On Monday, July 30, I will be teaching “Color Mastery and Confident Yarn Combining” at Little Red Schoolhouse Yarn, also on the West Side of Lansing but very near the Lansing Mall. This one-night offering includes the first section, combining yarns, from the ColorJoy Stole class. However, you can use the information to make a number of different possible items whether my stole or another project.

Before I lose your attention, I’ll end by mentioning my first August class, on August 4 at Yarn Garden. I’m doing my Perfect Hug shaped shawl pattern in a three-hour session from 1-4pm on a Saturday.

I make samples for the yarn shops where I sell patterns/teach, and the sample I made for Yarn Garden has been a real hit. One reason for that, I’m sure, is that Lindsay (the new owner of this shop) really likes the sample and wears it in the shop from time to time. When she doesn’t wear it, she has it on a great display.

I love how she has this sample displayed (first photo above). She shows it off fully (this is the “medium” coverage version which I call the Bear Hug, it is not too long but wraps fully around the shoulders and covers the front of the wearer). The sample she has was knit in Rio de la Plata thick/thin wool, which is a lot like Manos Del Uruguay and Debbie Bliss Soho. See the photo I got last time I was in the shop? Nice display!

Last, I will share with you a non-class photo here. I took this photo last time I was at Yarn Garden. It is hand-embroidered with the saying: She believed she could… So she did. Lindsay, the new owner of the shop (she’s in her 20’s) told me that her sister made it for her when the shop opened. I love the sentiment.

I hope that gives you a smile and some hope, as it did me!

Recently, Brian and I (as The Fabulous Heftones) performed as the entertainment for a wedding reception in Grand Ledge, Michigan. This is a lovely older town west of Lansing which has stayed beautiful and vital. They have a real appreciation for the historical there, including a wonderful old opera house where this reception was held.

Behind the opera house is a river and a park area. I got a few photos just after we got our gear unloaded, before the bride and groom arrived. This photo of Brian pleases me a lot. He’s in the tuxedo he usually wears for our performances, on the back walk of the opera house.

After taking the shot of Brian I turned to my right and photographed the downtown park on the banks of the Grand River (which also flows through downtown Lansing). Very pretty!

Grand Ledge is named that because of some rock formations there (not unlike the dells in Wisconsin Dells). These are popular for local rock climbers. They are in a different park (Fitzgerald Park) which is really beautiful. Grand Ledge is particularly lovely in the autumn, though I think I have never taken any photos there at that time of year.

Eunice likes it when I post photos of my garden. I was quite honored when she told me that. This post is for you, Eunice!

My Plant-Tending Story

I can not say I’m much of a gardener. I’m more of a person who loves color and flowers. I love what grows but I am not thrilled about tending to the needs of the plants.

I also tend to enjoy home gardens which look somewhat natural. Even in someone else’s yard I think I am not so fond of straight rows of tulips or round gardens with edgings in regimented rows. I admire people who are able to make that sort of thing work, and I adore this sort of formality in a public garden (such as Frances Park in Lansing or Applewood Gardens in Flint). I just prefer a softer, more natural look in my own yard.

The Shade Garden

Because of these tendencies in myself, I have learned for the most part to plant things which come up every year. In the front of our yard, we replaced a porch maybe four years ago and lost all of our overgrown bridal-wreath bushes at that time. I planted three varieties of hosta (the front yard is 100% shade most of the summer).

I chose purple-leaf coral bells in the same front garden (with the hosta plants). My horticulturist friend warned me that the purple ones are sometimes not as hardy as the green ones, but I lucked out. The two plants did very well for several years, but this year the largest hosta are taking over and shading them a lot.

I will need to make a choice… move the hosta or move the coral bells. I am leaning toward the hosta, because they are more likely to take a move well.

I also tried lilies of the valley in that garden which seemed to not work… yet this year two lonely shoots came up. Maybe they will turn into something someday, I will honor them by leaving them alone.

The North Side

Fortunately, the lilies of the valley on the north side yard (a thin strip of land, maybe 10ft/3m wide) are thriving and taking over. This was exactly what I had hoped for. There is no tree shade there so it gets reflected light.

There is also a small white wild climbing rose there, with tiny single flat blooms. It has mean thorns but doesn’t grow as fast as the fuschia ones elsewhere on the lot.

On the north we also have a small pink spirea (I’m not at all sure that is how to spell them… the white ones are called bridal wreath). I am not sure how old that one is, but I’m certain it was there when Brian moved in (about 1992).

Gratitude

For the record, when we put in these plants it is me doing the choosing and Brian doing the digging. He is a very good sport about physical labor, and I am grateful.

Brian usually cuts the yard with an “acoustic” motorless mower. It is very lightweight and quiet (I can even push it for a while, where power mowers bother my wrists instantly). Sometimes the woody weeds need a good power cut but that doesn’t need to happen every time. I like this balance just fine, though honestly since I do not do the mowing it’s up to Brian.

The Sunny Side: Wildish Roses

On the back and north sides of the house, we have a good deal of sun. This means that things grow on their own, without help… sometimes they grow so well they take over. Since much of our house was built in the 1920s (The front 3 rooms were turn of the century), many of our plants were no doubt established at that time. The roses, at least, will surely live longer than I will.

You can see the fuschia climbing roses in these photos. We have them on the garage behind the house, on the back wall (two major plants, and they creep sideways along the house on either side), and on the north side which is the far side of the house from this vantage point. The north side has two major plants and many little scrubby ones trying to come up.

These are the roses I ignored last year. They had so many dead branches that they were a big mess and ugly tan in so many spots! Roses get powdery mildew easily when there is not a lot of airflow, so it was important to prune all those dead branches out.

I worked several days getting the roses down to a civilized state (they still look wild, I think, but they are not taking over and dying as much). I threw out seventeen paper grocery bags full of clippings, in two sessions, and a few more in subsequent small sessions. Whew!

Yes… these photos were taken *after* the pruning sessions. You can see that I do not dare skip a year with these plants again.

I am grateful for my thick suede (hot pink) gloves. They protect me from most of the puncture wounds I am guaranteed to receive if I garden without them. Sometimes I think I won’t need them, and one time I literally had a thorn pierce a fingernail all the way through. Those beauties are downright mean!!!

The Garage Garden: A bit o’nourishment

On the garage you can see we have a thriving “snowball bush” which is also no doubt from the 1920s. We moved it once and it’s very happy in this new spot.

Actually, at the very far corner of the garage , we have two rhubarb plants for pies/desserts (behind the snowballs, you can see the furthest one in the shade if you look at the first photo in this post). Rhubarb is a regional treat… very tart, even more so than cranberries.

The furthest rhubarb plant is from Mom, it is descended from plants on the farm in Minnesota where she grew up. It’s very strong and happy even though this is only its second year. The one on the left side of the small door, is tiny and scrawny, has always been a little weak, and now that the snowball is shading it we may lose it entirely.

You may not be able to see it, but on the garage, underneath the climbing rose, to the right of the lilies and the left of the snowballs, is a two foot by two foot area I call my food garden. I know, that’s a bit postage-stamp to be a real garden but it’s in a good spot and that’s all I have time to tend.

In the food garden I have chives (from mom) that are being choked out by the lily. I used to have sage plants for many years but they are gone now and I can not tell why. I have a parsley plant or two… they are supposed to be two-year plants but this is their third year. They are tall and spindly and woody, but they still taste like parsley and I use them when I cook.

I also planted two types of dill from seed, cilantro and spinach also from seed, in this area. The tall (non-bushy, standard) dill is growing OK although I started it a bit too late to really thrive. The bushy dill did not even attempt to come up.

The cilantro is looking happy but still small. And the spinach? Well, it came up but it likes cold weather and my delay means I did not get any for dinner. They are tiny little weedlike bits, but I don’t have the heart to take them out.

You may be able to see in the little area at the foot of the garage rose, an odd plant in the colors of rhubarb (red stem, big green leaves) but much more upright. This is a Swiss Chard plant I got in a pot at the local health food store.

When I bought it, the thing was very sad and droopy. It has recovered well and I have been harvesting bits of it for different meals. I grew it once before but I thought I could only harvest once so I saved it “for special.” Now I know that if I harvest, it will grow more. I’m enjoying this small bit of food “grown on my own farm.*”

* My maternal grandfather used to say this sometimes when dinner came around on the farm in Hanska, Minnesota. My father then started saying it when we would harvest fruit from the trees on our suburban lot near Lansing, Michigan, when I was growing up. I thought it was a common American saying, but it turns out it was about my Mom’s father. Go figure.

Another food plant takes up the same space as the entire herb/chard garden. It is a potted bush tomato, and it lives on the top landing of the back steps (in the above picture it is in the shade behind the mailbox). Living there it is protected from some bad weather, some animals, and it reminds me to water it every time I come home (because that is the door I use every day).

I have neglected to mention a few other plants that come back each year. We have three peonies, and those in the most sun of course do best. One we moved from shade four years ago and I thought we had killed it, but now it is under the mailbox and almost taking over that area entirely. You can not even see the side of the cement steps any more, which pleases me.

Have a peek at this photo from 2004, the geranium/petunia containers I planted that year (they sit at either side of the steps on the grass, the only flowering plants I fuss with which do not come back each year). See how bare it was, and how tiny the peony behind the pot?

Believe me, at that point I was just thrilled that the peony made it through the winter. It had gone down to one sprig of leaves the fall before.

We also have some wonderful orange day-lilies, the kind which grow wild by the roadside. These just keep growing, again especially the ones in full sun. They keep growing little baby plants on the perimiter and I seem to often be giving those away to friends. I never diminish the number I have, it seems. Perfect.

Also we have a lot of Myrtle/Periwinkle groundcover. At first it did not do that well but I have learned how to encourage it. Now it is doing pretty well. It takes about 3 years for any plant to thrive and I think I’m on my 3rd year of actively encouraging the myrtle… it is trying to take over my tiny food garden so I move it from there to a shady place on the south side, and that place doesn’t look so barren anymore.

We have a relatively small yard for Lansing, but I find it perfect for people who don’t want to spend too much time fussing. I can water all the plants which need assistance, in less than 20 minutes when I get home from work.

Not too big, not too small. As Goldilocks would say: “Just Right!”

I met Chelle/Hanging by a Thin Thread on the internet, in the knitting community. I think the internet is a wonderful, powerful place… I have met so many people here who have become very important in my life… including Chelle.

So last week I got an order through my shopping cart, for a pattern or two and a Fabulous Heftones CD (In the Garden). And the person ordering was Chelle. I was delighted.

So today she wrote me to say she’d blogged our CD. She likes it! Hey Mikey!

Thanks, Chelle. It always warms my heart to hear that the music I love can make someone else smile.

I am about half way through my special summer edition of CityKidz Knit! program at Foster Community Center. I have 13 kids, three of them boys, four of whom I’d not met before this session. Usually this program is a “walk in” program during the school year but after a summer when I had 23 kids who had never knit before and 45 minutes to teach them, I quit summer program for 2 years.

This year my boss lured me back by allowing me to set boundaries about the number of kids and she let me keep the same enrollment list all summer. This means I am having some excellent progress with the kids.

Last week I had kids knitting small rectangles and felting them by hand in soapy water, sitting on the floor with the lid from a rubbermaid bin which I made into an impromptu felting/shrinking station. I had three kids there most of the two-hour session.

At the end they were surprised that the water looked somewhat dirty. I reminded them that wool is a natural product and that sheep live in fields. They understood after my explanation. This is good information for a city kid to think about.

This week I wore a dress from Ethiopia to the center, because I had a musical performance right after work and the dress was the right kind of formal for the musical occasion. One girl had not heard of Ethiopia but had heard of Africa (these are young elementary-aged kids for the most part).

I keep a wall map of the world, so we walked over there and talked about different countries, and how HUGE Africa is next to the United States… how Africa is not a country but a continent.

How Egypt is in Africa even though it also is a mideastern country and also a Mediterranean country. How when I was in Egypt I saw very old gravestones that were marked in Greek. I showed them Kenya as well, because that was the other country I visited when I went on my trip. Most of the kids had heard of Kenya before (I’m sure they see wild animals from Kenya on TV, if nothing else). They also learned that Nairobi is a city, the capital of Kenya, and not a country (as I had once thought).

I love teaching the kids about places outside their world. This is a very international part of the city where the Foster Center is located, so it’s pretty wonderful to wake up about our neighbors, on our block or on our earth. Let’s face it, so many of us have roots outside of North America (and sometimes we talk about that in knitting class as well, for example I’m Norwegian and we have talked about Norwegian mittens… and when we got a donation of Icelandic wool we learned about that as well).

Lucky for us, restaurants in Lansing now can teach us a bit about the world outside our corner, (at least two of my regulars like to eat at Altu’s Ethiopian restaurant). Also in my case my wardrobe is full of things from other parts of the world, mostly parts of Africa and India.

After all, knitting is culture, it is Folk Art, it is textiles and science (felting) and math (how many stitches should I cast on). I love rolling it all into one… because life is a combination of learning curves and we need to use what we have learned in different combinations, every day.

OK, end of that train of thought for now.

The kids want me to thank everyone out there who has donated supplies to their program. They understand that all the supplies in the room came from you (my knitting friends, local and internet). A huge huge thanks in particular to one Person who lives in the Washington DC area, who has sent box after box after incredible box of very special yarns.

There has been an abundance of luxury in the last several months for these kids, many of whom do not have the resources to have things this special, at least not often. We’ve had small-producer handpainted yarns and Colinette and much Rowan, for example.

The dozen or more balls of Rowan Biggy Print went home with my most accomplished knitter. She first wanted to felt it into a rug, but once she made it up, she decided it was a superb lap blanket and will not be felting it after all. Yes, she really does know how special this rug/blanket really is. I keep requesting a photo or for her to bring it in. We’ll see if I can get that to happen.

I also had a swift and ball winder donated to the program! Of course it is a tool for using in only certain instances. I do not allow playing with tools other than using them for their proper use. It is no surprise, then, that all the yarn that came in twisted hanks (the kind which requires winding into a ball before knitting) is all gone. Not a hank left in the room!!!

One boy was so in love with the tools that he had a very hard time keeping his hands off them after all the yarn was wound. He learned how serious I am about boundaries, although I was sure to tell him how much I like *him* even when I don’t like his actions. Not to worry, I have yet a few more hanks that were donated which ended up in the trunk of my car for a little too long. He will be put to work winding that yarn when he returns next week.

Another of my boys was a late addition to the program. He is the brother of one of my regular knitters from last term. She showed him how to knit before he came, and also how to “finger knit” (which makes a knitted tube not unlike I-Cord but sloppier and much more loosely constructed).

The photo of the day is this youngster on the far side of my classroom, with me on the camera at the other side of the long room. I think his finger knit cord is at least 15 feet long, maybe 20 feet (5-7 meters). He joined us late, but he certainly fits right in!

It may seem that I have not been knitting. I have just not been taking photos of my knitting, is all. I have actually finished four pair of socks since the last week in June.

Luckily, when we were on the sand dune resting at the top, it occurred to me that the sand (which had withstood heavy rainfall the day before and even that morning) had a wonderful texture which would be a good background for a sock picture.

This pair is now complete (as of July 5) and was my 155th pair since I started knitting socks in April 2001. It was knit with two strands of my own Tiptoe Sockyarn (in Gentle Joy colorway) that I dyed myself, held together to make a dense and thick pair. I used my “First-Time Toe-Up Socks” pattern for the foot, and continued upward with a rib until I liked the height of the leg.

The leg is a Knit 2 Purl 2 rib. It’s not super tall but it is long enough to fold over once if I choose to wear then on a warmish day. I don’t like really tall socks, anyway… in the winter I wear legwarmers on top, and in the summer I do wear socks but prefer them short.

There is so much more depth to the color in real life than I can get out of the camera, unfortunately. The photo was taken on a bright midday but in the shade to avoid shadows. The yarn goes from turquoise, through several greens and ends up with a springy yellow-green.

I love this yarn and these socks. It is not often at all that I get to keep my own work. I have one pair of socks made from yarn I dyed, and they are footies. What a luxury it is to keep thses! It’s sort of that idea that the cobbler’s children don’t have shoes… in order to make my business thrive, I may knit for myself and then I realize a shop needs a sample ont heir floor… so the knitting I did for myself never really becomes mine. It could be worse, though… I do have a wonderful life.

I’ve got so many wonderful photos of the dunes between Lake Michigan and Silver Lake, that I can not resist showing a few more to you. The first one is our little crew of dune walkers that day, minus me… Jennifer, Jennifer’s beau, Brian, Pedro and Kathleen. Only Brian in this photo lives in the Midwest right now… Jennifer and beau are in Washington DC and Kath and Pedro are in northern Florida. It was wonderful to spend the day with them all.

Next is a lighthouse on the shore of Lake Michigan. This photo was taken facing south. I took it only a few minutes before I took the photo of the sunset (posted in previous blog entry).

Next is a view on the top of the dunes. I like how peaceful this one looks. If it looks like the sand goes on forever, it surely feels that way when you are up on the top.

Last is some dunegrass that we found at the top of the dunes. This type of grass is very important to the dune, if I remember my science class right. The roots hold the sand in place and resist erosion. Once grasses take hold, other things are more likely to be able to grow. I believe there is a whole set of animal life (birds are the most obvious) that thrive on the edges of the dunes where this grass has taken hold.

Maybe I’m catching up. In any case, here are a few photos from near Silver Lake State Park, 45 minutes north of Muskegon, Michigan… there are sand dunes between Silver Lake and Lake Michigan. Beautiful territory.

We tried to camp (July 3-5) and the first day it rained TWO INCHES in one night… we ended up sleeping in the car and it was a good thing, because everyone who slept in a tent (and these were experienced tent campers) woke up in puddles and ended up sleeping in cars or even driving home over an hour, at 1:30am. Ugh.

Luckily, Brian’s car is very big and the seats are quite comfy… not for overnight sleep but better than my New Beetle by a long shot. Two people in a car means not much oxygen, so we would wake up every so often and open windows in the pouring rain just to get more air, then we’d sleep a bit longer. I really prefer physical comfort to the great outdoors but at least we did not get very wet or very cold. It could have been significantly worse.

The next day was slow to dry out, but around 3pm it got nice and a bunch of us (Brian’s family) went walking on the dunes. Usually walking very far in that sand is a lot of work, but because of all the rain the dunes were solid underfoot and we walked a long time. It was really beautiful, and a nice payback for a crummy/wet night.

Here is a sunset over Lake Michigan, footprints in the firm sand, and a panoramic view from the top of the dunes. I hope you enjoy the photos.

I am finally feeling a little more settled with this new computer. Not exactly pleased yet, but settled.

I un-installed the trial calendar program, and then my Palm device didn’t synchronize at all for a while. I found a way to synch (only to the administrator account and only the calendar, but that’s a backup and I will live with that until I figure out how to make it work more fully/conveniently).

I backed up all my pattern documents and other business documents, and a bunch of other crucial items. Actually, a few nights ago I had a seriously good cry about my powerlessness over this new system… and I felt better after the cry. I’m not sure anything changed about my situation, but I feel more like Lynn again. Thank goodness something changed, as I had lost my serenity two or three weeks back and I needed my feet under me again.

The main reason I tell you that is that while I was in flipping-out-over-computer mode, I didn’t do anything extra to speak of. I took a LOT of photos and you may never see most of them. However, now that I feel more settled I was able to process three pretty decent photos I got last week.

Downtown Lansing is the home of the Lugnuts minor league baseball park. This place has changed my city for the better more than almost anything else I can think of (and I was a skeptic, not being a sports fan). So now downtown hops many nights all summer. They have fireworks very often, actually… and these were taken the week of the 4th but not on the holiday itself.

We were just going to dinner at Clara’s restaurant (which used to be the railroad depot, only a few blocks from the state Capitol building). In the parking lot if you stood in just the right place, every once and a while you could see some of the bigger firecrackers going off over the buildings.

In the largest photo here, you can see the overhang of Clara’s main building. It’s a wonderful space, and their kitchen is open pretty late. I know that a lot of theatre people go there after rehearsals. We had good service and good food and we need to go back sometime.

I love fireworks, holiday or not. I hope you enjoy the pretty pictures.

My sis-in-love (Brian’s sis) Kathleen is a very good cook. She has a blog about food (Kathleen’s Vegetarian Kitchen) and this Summer Vegetable Roast recipe she posted this week looks really yummy! I’m thinking that if I added a can of drained garbanzo beans or fava beans at the end of the process, it would be a full meal for me.

I know you folks like recipes… enjoy!

I am fond of saying that “if you liked knitting it once, you’ll like knitting it again.” Today I get to experience that more deeply than I have in a long time. I already ripped it back so there are no photos. Let’s just say that when you knit things not like what you usually knit, it takes longer to realize that you have a problem.

It’s beautiful yarn, Rowan CashCotton, in raspberry. It has some angora for softness and I’m not sure what else (I think some microfiber or acrylic) to make it more squishy than regular 100% cotton yarn (which rarely interests me).

I’m knitting it in garter stitch which is really stretchy and lovely. I am working at 5 st/inch (on size 5US/3.75mm needles), which is a nice firm gauge. I like the fabric I am getting. It is thick and cushy, but it takes a lot of stitches to make a few square inches.

However knitting lots of garter stitch is really good for “worry bead” knitting. With the computer ups and downs, I can use as many worry beads as possible. Such as dozens of yards of yarn to knit again??? Sure.

Off to enjoy knitting it again…

My mother is very good at keeping in touch with those she loves… and she loves a lot of folks. She sends regular emails telling of her life, and she mails out copies to those who do not have email access. They tell about trips, meals, events, relationships and her own back yard.

Since Mom is a good observer (she does not talk as much as me so she has more time to notice things around her), she has much to say about ordinary but precious events. I particularly liked her stories this week…

Mom gave me permission to quote her today. I hope you enjoy it as I did.

The animals in the yard really entertain Fred. He calls it my zoo. It was fun watching the cardinals teaching their new hatchling to hunt for food. At first he just enjoyed hopping around and did not seem to notice what his folks were doing. Once he caught on, he would hop over and eat it out of their bill. A few days later, he was hunting up a storm.

There have been woodpeckers, flickers, sparrows, robins and blue jays lately. The red squirrel is here off and on. The chipmunks are always around and they do love to chase. Today a saw a “wooly” caterpillar. It was only a fourth of an inch long. The daddy long leg spiders were all over in the ivy and all over me too. I brushed them off most of the time, but had to take my glasses off when one got on the inside of the lens…

…I still have some purple wood sorrel. The seeds came from Pete’s Grandma Peterson. Pete’s mom had the plants and asked if I wanted some. They self seed and are hard to see as they blend in with the mulch. I am always excited to see them. I have no idea where she got them. Some of them have cross bred with the wild green wood sorrel. I still have some of the dark purple. When I was little we loved to eat the raw leaves and say it was sauerkraut. I have no idea where that came from.

I have some white clover in my yard, too. I even made some clover chains as a reminder of my childhood. I wonder how many children get to make clover chains now. It seems most yards are like a carpet and have no room for making clover chains or whistles from grass blades or eating “sauerkraut”.

Susan wrote to the Socknitters Yahoo email group that she had knit socks recently with Cascade Fixation yarn. This yarn is unique in that it’s cotton with elastane/lycra.

For a long time Fixation was nearly the only cotton yarn I liked for socks (though it is thicker than standard sockyarn). I designed a few patterns in this yarn, and always like to check out what others knit up in the stuff.

I was delighted when I clicked on Susan’s link and found a photo of her Fast Florida Footies (also referred to as the FFF), my pattern, in that yarn. I wrote to ask her if I might link to her blog post (her blog is called Dog-Lover’s Yarn), and she said:

Of course you may! Thanks for such a great pattern! I have diabetes so I baby my feet and this is a particularly good pattern because the sole is purled…

Thank you, Susan, for such a great vote of confidence. For those out there who do not know this pattern yet, it is free in size XS on my website to let knitters preview my style of pattern-writing before they decide whether they want to buy any of my patterns.

Many socknitters know how to adjust a one-size pattern to their own size, but if you don’t know how or don’t want to go through the hassle, I also sell a formatted version of the FFF pattern in 8 sizes, from infant 0 to ladies L. You can buy the eight-size version on paper (sent first-class mail) at my own shopping cart. You can also get it as a PDF email attachment through my Etsy shop, http://colorjoy.etsy.com

(Added later: Photo by Susan, posted here with her permission.)

Tracy has been a friend to me and to my designing, for a few years now. She has tested patterns for me and she stays in touch through the internet.

Now she writes that she finished some “Victorian Lace Socks” from yarn I dyed. Yellow with small greenish biits, randomly applied.

Tracy’s yarn is related to the yellow-with-melon-bits yarn that Irene B. Knit (I showed that photo in a post about the East Lansing Art Festival back in May).

I have never dyed yarn like this since, but I made three yellow-with-bits skeins, I think it was about a year ago. I was playing with the idea of yellow, thanks to the influence of knitting friend Jacque.

Irene said that local knitters who know how I dress, were amazed that I would dye yarn in colors I would not wear. I like color, especially bright color, even if I don’t look good wearing it. That makes sense to me!

Warning: Mostly geek content, fairly grumpy Windows Vista post (with gratuitous Rhubarb Crisp Recipe) to follow… knitters and uke fans not interested in computers or rhubarb might like to return tomorrow for pretty pictures?

I’m assuming someone will be interested in one person’s experience with Vista. Remember that I taught software professionally as my primary job for over 6 years followed by about 3 years of Y2K Consulting and Access Database programming. I have taught computer software use from DOS to WindowsXP. I had a web page I wrote myself in HTML, in 1996, when most people didn’t have email… therefore, I have specific desires in an operating system/computer (mostly for power over changes in my system) than most computer users today might.

Doubt

Maybe I should have trusted my gut, and bought a more expensive laptop with Windows XP. I would have been up and running for a week now, anyway. A year and a half ago I got a new hard drive for my old laptop, had to start from scratch (Ghost would not work to transfer files), and it only took 2.5 weeks to get up and running. Right now it has been 3.5 weeks and I’m not set yet.

The Good

I’m actually thrilled that a lot of my non-major-player softwares are working fine. My HTML Editor, Arachnophilia 4.0, was written when I had Windows 98 and it works like a champ. This is CareWare, a wonderful concept, and even though this version is no longer supported, I have never needed support since Windows98.

My (free) PDF writer, CutePDF, worked the first time and actually says on their site it’s set up for Vista. My Secure FTP program (for copying web pages from my hard drive to my website), FileZilla, worked the first time and even imported the old settings (I maintain several websites so this was really great, to not have to look up usernames, hosts and passwords for them all).

More standard softwares that fared well: Firefox (my browser rather than Microsoft Internet Explorer) did not flinch. Photoshop 5.5, copyright 1999, acted as if nothing were changed. Eudora 7.0 (email) works like a champ. Adobe Reader 8 is fine, as is OpenOffice (a free office productivity suite, with a word processor and spreadsheet that I use sometimes, and a PowerPoint substitute plus a few other goodies available).

The Bad

The down sides: My laptop came with Microsoft Word 2007 (a trial version, I need to pay in a little while if I want to keep it, which I will not do). It has such a different interface that I can’t figure it out. Maybe it would be more instinctive to someone who never used a word processor before, although personally I think that they put far too much visual clutter in front of the user and they hid all the basics.

For instance, it’s hard to find Undo (there is a tiny back arrow in the TITLE BAR/colored bar at very top where no useful menus have ever lived before). And there is no “menu bar” with File, Edit, View, etc… just a huge “icon” in the top left corner where the not-useful control menu used to live (it did minimize/restore/maximize but people tended to prefer the buttons at top right for those functions instead). When you click on that round button, you get Open and Save and Print. Sigh.

In many programs in Vista, you can tap the “Alt” key to display the hidden menu bar (since when is that instinctive?) but in Word 2007, if you tap Alt, you see letters telling you what keystrokes you can use to access the menu without your mouse. I use keystrokes but have them memorized. We will see if using this program for a while will make me more familiar and more friendly with these radical changes. As a computer instructor (I teach retirees once a week), this complicates things a lot… my students will be split between two different interfaces at home, and the classroom will only show one of the options.

For casual users who learn computers in a classroom or library, if they get this on the first computer they buy, they will be most definitely lost. I mean, *I* got lost and I have used a series of different types of computers since 1981 (mini, mainframe, and PC’s from DOS to Vista, Mac and a little Linux), and have been teaching Windows word processors since version 3.1 came out in the early 1990s.

If you are interested, you can click on the image below to see a full-sized window. You can either just slurp up Mom’s Rhubarb Crisp Recipe (it’s OK with her, she shares it all the time), or you can peek at the new look for Microsoft Word version 2007.

The Plan

What I am doing right now is just sort of dabbling in Word 2007 until it disables itself (hoping that I will pay for it). I will then uninstall it and instead install Microsoft Office XP/2002 for Word, Powerpoint, Excel, and perhaps Outlook (gasp). I also have a stand-alone copy of Access 2000 and will also install that.

I will need to buy a copy of either MS Publisher or Adobe InDesign. The Adobe softwares are much superior but so expensive they make me hurt. I may have to just deal with it, after all I’m a pattern designer and most designers are going to this format.

Right now I just have a few things for The Fabulous Heftones in MS Publisher 98, nothing really big, and the program is not really good enough for anything more. Version 98 was written as if it were for Windows 3.1 (the Save As box gives this away) so it needs to be retired at this point.

The Muddled

Printing is also not working perfectly. Brian is pretty sure he can figure this out. I can print fine if I connect the printer directly to my laptop, but it prints off center and too low on the page if I print through the network. I am choosing not to worry about that too much yet.

I also did buy a new Palm Device (my very old Handspring would not load its synch or driver softwares) and I do like that gizmo just fine. I thought I found a calendar program I liked (I do) but it does not allow me to synch my addresses, not to it and not to Palm Desktop. At this point I may actually try Outlook (since I already own a legal copy) just for address and contacts, and ignore the email part which is the part with the most security risk. I have to be able to synch my addresses!

The Fixed

Last night I had a bad spell with my Knitware Sweaters and Knitware Skirts and Shawls programs (both versions 2.5). I love these programs, though I don’t knit many sweaters. I did knit a dance top once (photo at left) using the sweaters version, although at the time I had to convert their pattern from flat to circular knitting (the current version supports knitting in the round). It just plain made things easier to figure out than plotting it all myself. And the top is so adorable my dance friends say out loud they could get one.

So I installed these programs. At the end of the install I could choose for the program to run right away. I did, and it worked just fine. Then I closed them and tried to re-run from the start menu. No luck. I was beside myself at that point.

Fortunately Brian calmed me down (he should not have to deal with me that grumpy at all, but he was so logical he did wonders). He walked me through a bunch of questions that made me more willing to keep trying. In the end, I first tried something called “compatibility mode” which did not work, and then I found “Run as Administrator” which did work. I have to enter the admin password in order to run the software, but then it works, and works very quickly. I am delighted.

Why?

Perhaps it would be good to remember why I got a new machine in the first place. My old machine would not burn CDs at all, and this was becoming more and more of a hassle to me. Then the cooling fan started making very bad noises. The fan cost really too much to replace when the laptop was already 4.5 years old, surely other things would start to go as well. So it was only a matter of time that I might be forced to change over and I wanted to do it while both machines were running.

Copying files between the machines was a hassle of the worst kind, I tried 4 different methods to do it and all of them would fail regularly, requiring constant supervision. However, that part is finally done (took 3 weeks) so now I just need to figure out the best way to back up the new hard drive (since the old backup software does not work in Vista). There is a backup program in Windows but I may not choose to go that route, we will see.

The Remainder

So now I’m down to address book woes and printing off-center issues. Maybe I will survive this transition after all. It would be a relief to my beloved Brian, I am sure. I often have grumpy mornings but I’ve had a grumpy three weeks and I think he’s really tired of it!!! To be honest, I’m tired of me this way, too.

The Artist in Me Deals with Her Frustration

How did I deal with my nervous energy today? I marked my geek territory, so to speak. I put a LOT of stickers on the inside of my laptop. (Besides being fun and colorful on a colorless laptop, the stickers are also a theft-deterrant.) I sure hope they stay stuck, because if they get caught under the keys of the keyboard I will have some trouble. They are metallic with really sticky backs so I am hoping for good luck.

On either side of the glidepad mouse are stickers that say “Lynn” which were a gift from Rainbow Julie, at the bottom of the monitor and keyboard are VW Beetles given to me by a music/knitting friend, and then there are a bunch of hearts and stars and daisies that Brian bought around Valentine’s Day last year.

Last week I put stickers on the cover. I have a Fabulous Heftones bumper sticker, musical notes and VW Beetles, and a photo sticker of a young Andy Warhol that came from some postage stamps. I admire how Warhol used the design element of repetition so effectively (since I do polymer clay, knitting and printmaking/rubber stamping, I also use this design element very heavily).

The Good News: Summertime

I think I feel better now. It is 97F degrees, perfect hammock weather. I made some iced tea and I think I’ll do some hammock time, either knitting or surfing wirelessly or maybe even reading. Enjoy your summer day (assuming you’re not on the other side of the globe) as well.

Today is my beloved brother, Eric’s, birthday. On 7-7-77 he turned 17. On 7-7-7 he turns 47. He’s wonderful at any age, on any day.

In my family, we always call each other and sing happy birthday on each other’s birthdays. I called Eric today and sang as per our standard procedure. Then we talked what seemed like just about forever. I could have come down to see him for dinner (one hour and 15 minutes, one way) but we already have plans for a whole-family gathering on July 16 (I thought I might be gone this weekend and Eric thought he might be working today). So I sat in the hammock and chatted, and he lounged around at his house, and it was delightful.

I don’t know how to live my life without my brother. He knows me so fully, in every way! I often get worked up about this or that, and I can call him, blurt out all my assorted and random thoughts, and he listens. Then when I stop, he asks me a question or two. And I then miraculously can make sense of it all, can move forward with more certainty. He never tells me what to do, he helps me figure out where I need to go.

Once when I was a divorcee and Eric was a widower, my employer offered all employees a free five-day cruise to reward us for good performance. I could take a guest for half price. I took Eric. It was incredible to have all that time together. What a gift that was!

I just wrote 2 paragraphs about ways he loves me unconditionally. I realized that perhaps visitors to my site wouldn’t love me that much, to them I might just look like a wimp or something… but trust me, whatever choices I make, my brother is behind me even if those choices are not longterm in my own best interests. And when I realize I’ve messed up, he’s just there telling me he is there to help me get through the mess I made.

Eric is creative… he is a really good embroiderer (I have pillowcases to prove it) and he once sewed a pair of blue jeans with those amazing seams you find only in storebought jeans. You never would have known someone could make them, but he did. For my first wedding, he sewed a frilly dress with lace for his then-fiancee (his late first wife, Kelly).

He is also very fond of gizmos. He likes things you can take apart and put together. As a kid, he tried rockets, those fuel-propelled balsa-wood airplanes you control by wires and fly in circles, cameras (complete with small darkroom thanks to Dad), and many other things. Before Dad died (Eric was almost 12) he showed Eric how to run wires in the attic to put in new light fixtures (I was a girl and was not allowed to do such things). One year Eric’s handcarved wood car won the first prize in the boy scout “derby.” It was ugly, but he was supposed to make it all himself and he did, probably with verbal advice from dad but no hands-on help. Dad would not have condoned cheating, and in the end Eric didn’t need any more help than he got, anyway.

I got my first computer from my brother. He took a bunch of parts he had and made a computer that worked. I was teaching computer classes at that time as my day job, but had to go to work to learn new programs. It was a godsend to get that computer which ran on DOS at first. When I upgraded to Windows 3.1 (it barely fit, somewhere in there I upgraded from a 10MB to a 50MB hard drive) I had to upgrade to 4MB RAM and purchase my first mouse. He also helped me navigate the internet when I first got on (2400 modem, before I got Windows). I didn’t know any women in Lansing, and only two male associates, who were online at that point. Eric is very good at explaining computers in English (in great part because Kelly insisted that he make sense when talking with her about his computer interests), so he became my tutor from afar.

Eric taught me how to fix computers. I’m more comfortable with software than hardware, but at the time I worked for a nonprofit and we had no budget for computer repair. Either I fixed it, or it didn’t get fixed. I called Eric with a problem and he told me to get a screwdriver and call him back. He said “now look on the back of the box, there is a screw located…” and the next thing you know, I had the box apart and the computer fixed. About five years later I made my primary living fixing computers… still more software than hardware but all because Eric shared what he knew with me.

Eric: happy, happy, very happy, perfect birthday to you!!!

While I’ve been mostly occupied at home with my computer transition, I’ve taught a handful of classes at local shops as well. I try to take photos of student works, sometimes I don’t remember.

I taught a basic baby hat class at Rae’s in Lansing. Two women were trying their first non-scarf projects, so they chose my button hat pattern (roll brim, simple decreases, button on the top rather than a pom pom or other detail) and the third student chose the very appealing Ann Norling Fruit Cap. That one calls for two yarns and something like four or five rows of knitting which alternates between those yarns. It’s a great first-time stranded knitting (sometimes called fairisle) project.

Since the baby hat class was only one evening, there was not much to photograph by the time they left. They knew what to do next, they practiced everything they would need to do later (on my knitting sample, so they would not mess up their own projects) but I did not take photos.

I also taught a one-day First-Time Toe-Up Sock class at Yarn Garden in Charlotte. We had such fun! They chose DK-weight washable wool (Zara, a wonderful yarn) and knit their toe, increasing until it would fit their own foot. At that point we put in a lifeline (waste yarn through each stitch so that they could rip back to that point later and put the same stitches back on needles). We saved time by not knitting much on the tube for the foot. We dove directly into knitting a shorter-than-usual heel flap (under the heel) and turned the heel, decreased for gussets, and then discussed several methods for binding off so that the top of the sock is stretchy enough to pull on over the heel.

It was a fun day. They ended up with what I call a “frankensock,” (I may have learned that from Lucy Neatby) which is all parts but out of proportion. No foot and no cuff to speak of, just the parts they needed to learn with the teacher nearby.

Then last Friday I taught Needlefelted Embellishments at Threadbear in Lansing. We first experimented with both yarn and fluffy wool roving, on an old felted/shrunken sweater I bought at Goodwill (it was donated to the charity after someone had accidentally shrunk it). Then Linda got out a cotton knit shell she had bought for the occasion. She originally had thought she would make flowers on it but ended up opting for paisley shapes. I know that folks needlefelt wool onto blue jeans jackets fairly frequently but had never tried needlefelting on cotton myself. She chose the finest needle she had so that she would not damage the cotton (cotton breaks more easily than wool) and she had quite a success. Won’t this be fun to wear with jeans???

Does anyone out there synchronize a palm device/PDA with a calendar program that is not Outlook or Palm Desktop? I really would like a bit of “experience, strength and hope” today.

I love the new calendar I use, when I’m dealing with the version on my laptop. However, I’m not satisfied with how it synchronizes changes I make (especially on the palm device), and I really am unhappy that it does not synchronize my addresses at all.

Any input, even small bits or sad stories, would be helpful at this point. Thanks for your consideration.

(You can comment or send me email to Lynn -AT- ColorJoy DOT com)

On Sunday after the Fri/Sat events of Chicagoland Ukulele Jamfest, we had a day on our own. We made the most of it.

First we went to lunch on Devon Avenue, the section I’m told is sometimes called “Little India.” We ate at Tiffin (I usually go to Udupi Palace but Jima of the comments had suggested that Tiffin was also good… it had been many years since I’d been there). Brian had the Sunday buffet which looked very good. I had been craving eggplant so I ordered that from the menu. All good, and excellent table service beyond that which I’ve seen in Lansing since I worked at a fancy restaurant in the late ’70’s.

After lunch I checked out a few clothing stores. I admired the sari/saree fabrics but opted for a two-piece outfit (sometimes called a Punjabi but now worn by many cultural groups and sometimes otherwise called Kameez Salwar (top-pants, the word for top is related to the word “chemise”) or Salwar Kameez. Most of these also come with a “scarf” or wrap for the neck/bodice area, usually of matching fabric or sometimes a pleasant contrast.

The one I chose to take home has a turquoise top with lots of machine embroidery in many colors, and solid-colored fuschia pants. It has a plaid turquoise/fuschia wrap which I don’t like as well. The top fits very well and is sort of the perfect colors. The embroidery reminds me of some I saw in Mexico, believe it or not.

The ensemble first seemed like a cotton/poly blend (the saleslady insisted it was cotton) but after taking it home I think it may be a high-quality 100% polyester. I won’t be wearing it in the dead heat of August but it should be fine in fall and spring. My second choice was definitely a lightweight cotton but it did not fit as well and was merely printed fabric, no embroidery, and I opted for the color/fit this time. . .

After clothes shopping, we went to Patel Brothers Grocery. I love this place. Most of the food markets in this section of town are fun in cute/tiny family grocery ways, but Patel Brothers has the most spectacular variety I can imagine.

The produce includes things I have eaten in Mexico and Africa (did I write that? lucky me) and they also had vast shelves full of all sorts of flours, beans/dal, and spices. I took home about a dozen prepackaged dinners (in boiling packets rather than cans) that are great for travel, vegetarian meals like mild yellow lentils or medium kidney beans in tomato sauce (like veggie chili). I also picked up the candy-coated fennel seed candies I enjoy.

After our Little India adventure, we headed to downtown Chicago. We parked under Milennium Park which is really pricey but it costs something like $15 for zero to 8 hours (ouch) and so it looked like even if we drove out right away it might cost us a bit. We parked and went up to the park for maybe 2-3 hours. It was very worthwhile.

We first visited the shiny sculpture whose real name I do not know but I think Stephanie Pearl McPhee (Yarn Harlot) called it the bean. it looks like a huge and impossibly shiny bean, indeed. It is pretty from a distance but the closer you get the more amazing it is. From a distance it reflects the sky and the skyline, and you taking the photo.

From up close if you get underneath, it becomes obvious that the convex shapes inside and under the sculpture are designed for amazing and delighting the eye. I stood in one place underneath and could see my own reflection in eight (8) different spots. It is wonderful.

As we exited the sculpture area, there was a large recessed area where we saw several street musicians. None had any tip jars out, they were just performing for the crowds. I’m guessing the Parks department (they call it something different than we do in Lansing) pays these performers. One guy was juggling and one woman was on stilts and singing familiar songs for a crowd, accompanied by none other than a Ukulele. Too bad she didn’t seem to have been at the festival the day before!.

After that, we went to the water sculpture. When I was in Chicago with Altu (I think that was in 2002 or 2003) it was relatively chilly that day and nobody was playing in the water. This time was different, and there were many, many children and a few adults wading and splashing in the water under the two tall rectangular block sculptures made of glass blocks. These blocks change, sometimes they have faces projected from the inside out, and the faces change. Sometimes they are just colored. This time I got a great shot where one of the projected faces appeared to be squirting water out of its mouth, and the kids were splashing under the fountain of water.

On the way back we looked at the area which in winter is a skating rink but now is a food court, and we wandered to a quieter area. This area had wildflower fields, lots of flowers of all sorts. There also was a sort of man-made creek which was sort of like a fountain but without squirting water, and lots of folks had thrown coins into it (I am assuming they were making wishes with each coin).

At that point we found our way to the car and headed home. I am really glad we took the time to wander slowly out of town. Chicago always recharges my emotional batteries and I really appreciate it.

It is a holiday week here in the USA. We have our Independence Day on Wednesday, the 4th of July. I need a vacation from this computer.

I can’t find the photos I took of downtown Chicago right now. I also saved some pretty photos of my climbing roses, inspired by Ewe-kniss (did I spell that right?) of the comments, who said in person she likes photos of my garden. I even edited those photos and saved them but to where?

I’m really disoriented with the new structure of where things are stored on the new machine (Windows Vista has its own ideas and I’m trying to submit to that, but I forget while I’m learning… normal stuff but frustrating). Those darned learning curves! Whether it is a move, a new car, a new job, it takes a while to get readjusted. Right now I’m in the middle of that phase.

Here in the middle of my favorite season, in the middle of a wonderful gift which is this new computer (which I even got before the old one died), I am just a bit disoriented. As a friend says, it’s good stress but it’s stress anyway. I think a few days of rest will do me good.

I am fine, my hubby is wonderful, and I am going to turn off the computer for a few days and have a holiday. Don’t worry about me, I’m just resting.

Everyone have a wonderful few days. I really appreciate you folks, I know you are there and I could hug each and every one of you for coming by. Please come by on Thursday night and I’ll have something new for you. Thanks.

Here is my favorite photo of my favorite place in Lansing… my porch, my hammock, with me in it.

I wrote a relatively long post about Chicago in the wee hours yesterday. I thought I saved it as a draft, but I went back today to add photos and it’s nowhere. Today has been spent with trying to get data (especially photographs) from my old laptop to my new one. I’m mostly working on the new one now but my archival stuff is not all moved. The old machine started making very very loud noises in the last few days (the bearings on its cooling fan have been going bad for almost a year now) and I need to make haste.

It took until after 8pm Sunday for even Brian’s tried and true methods to work. Vista really works hard at being in control. It apparently particularly makes things hard if you want to use methods that are not Microsoft’s idea.

We were using a program (to move/copy files from one machine to another) that was originally written for Linux (and works fine in Windows XP) and it just gave us loop after loop to crawl through. Giving it an administrative password when prompted (even when already logged in as administrator), was not enough. Sigh. I went on two walks today to burn up worry-energy so that I would not implode from nervous energy (as in: will this really work, and will it work before my old laptop gives up the ghost).

The good part was while Brian was working on the machine and I was taking my second walk, I went by the Fleetwood Diner and thought I heard someone say my name. Sure enough! It was the grandmother of one of my CityKidz knitters, who I haven’t seen since around the winter holidays. It was great to see her. That really helped me get my mind off of worries where I have only so much control. Yay for Lansing being small enough for folks to run into one another!

So… I will choose to have a good day, lost post and slow laptop transition and all. We did have a nice simple dinner (salads of kohlrabi and red bell pepper, mine with tuna, and fresh dill from the garden plus good olive oil as dressing).

I also talked briefly to my friend April on the phone and she will come over tomorrow night after work. I can’t tell you how much I wish she still lived across the street! More good-day-making activity!

And today was a positively gorgeous day for going on those two walks. The sky was blue with fluffy white clouds, like those in paintings where they look unbelievably ideal.

I did not take any photos today but I did take some a few nights ago on the way home from work/the post office. I think this was Thursday. It was so beautiful I had a hard time driving. I drove right past our house and parked where I could climb up to the pedestrian bridge over Cedar Street near the diner. I get some great sunset views from up there when I am lucky.

Here i show you one photo from Pennsylvania Avenue bridge, and one a few minutes later from the pedestrian overpass/bridge on Cedar, facing north toward the Kool Kone soft serve/catering business (run by two women if I remember right). On the near right corner (diagonal from Kool Kone) is the parking lot for the Lansing location of Fleetwood Diner.