In the Meantime...

I have not given up on my Trips West 2013 posts, even though I know some/most of you find them as exciting as home movies and slide shows (slide shows--remember when we had those things called slide carousels full of photos in slide format and bored family and friends with them at holiday get-togethers?). More to come. I have been a bit tied up with trying to finish some spinning projects and getting acquainted with a delightful little loom I have acquired. In the meantime, I'm sharing some equally exciting photos of random stuff that makes up my life. My apologies for the erratic spacing of the photos. I don't seem to have control of it or know what to do to fix it. Still working on that.

The spinning project. Hand dyed and blended by Yours Truly. Fiber is a blend of mostly alpaca, some sheep's wool, and a little bit of sparkly stuff.

Some of the yarn. This thin stuff takes a while to spin. I'm almost finished with this step, but next I have to make 2-ply (2-strand) yarn out of it. That won't take as long once I get around to doing it. I have to knit a lacy scarf after I finish the yarn.
                                                                                                   

                                                  
New-to-me portable loom. A Schacht Baby Wolf. Folds up and fits into the back of the van so that I can carry it to workshops. (photo from the Schacht files)

A shot of the Baby Wolf (to give a better idea of its size) and my Majacraft Rose spinning wheel in the garage space that has become my temporary fiber studio while I rearrange space in the house to make room for the loom.

Daughter in the chemistry lab storeroom at UAH. Weird lighting makes it look like she has a black eye. It's just the shadow created by her hair.

Mt. Shasta at sunset with alpenglow. Photo taken by Number 2 Son. He's gone to California for a few weeks and is staying in the town of Mt. Shasta. He gets to look at this beautiful sight whenever they go anywhere.

His photo prompted me to do this small watercolor for him as a keepsake of his adventures in Northern California.









Ok, bear with me.  Only two more.

A photo of a photo and the real reason I haven't been doing much. My dear nephew doing what he loved--competing in mountain biking events. His favorite place to ride and compete was in the Colorado Rockies. I like to think that that's what he's doing now.












Last one.
We had a spectacular sunset the other day. Too bad there's no way to capture the beauty of it with a cell phone camera.

My Girl

She's my sunshine on a cloudy day.
When it's cold outside, she's the month of May.
I guess I'd say who can make me feel this way
Is my girl. Talking 'bout my girl.

(with apologies to The Temptations)


Today I think I should say a few things about my lovely daughter. She is a student at our local university. I am very proud of her. She hasn't really declared a major, yet, but is interested in chemistry and biology. She has talked about pursuing a career in biochemistry or microbiology. She is a very diligent student and her hard work is paying off with very good grades. I am inspired by her efforts and how far she has come since the day I first laid eyes on her twenty-one years ago.



This seems to be the only digital photo I can find of her high school graduation back in the spring of 2006. There must be others hiding out somewhere. If I find them, I'll try to post a few.




Here she is clowning at Ruby Falls with her boyfriend and her little bro back in the summer.































































































As maid of honor at a friend's wedding recently.




































She's grown into a beautiful young woman and I'm very proud of her. I hope she knows how much I love her.