time

As the 2005 year draws to a close, I find myself thinking quite a bit about time.  Mostly because I have so very little of it to spend on fibery pursuits these days.  Abraham Lincoln once said that, "Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend".  Ah yes, and one should do so wisely.

One of the most interesting articles that I have read lately, was about the Leap Second that will be added to the world's clocks at midnight on the 31st of December 2005.  The original article that I read, mentioned the Tusnami of 2004, and how it had altered the rotation rate of the Earth, enough to cause an adjustment in the way the International Earth Rotation Service (IERS) determines it is required to keep Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).  Futher reading into this subject provided for a few interesting hours of research and mind boggling thoughts.  I found a bulletin that was addressed: "To authorities responsible for the measurement and distribution of time"....and thought, wow, this is serious stuff.  I was happy to have it come to my attention that I would be getting another second to spend, and pondered ways to best use it...but then realized how many minutes I had spent thinking of ways to spend my second wisely.  I came to a conclusion that underscored what a good friend of mine once observed about me in the seventh grade...and that is, that I could never determine the shortest distance between two points.  Hummm....

So, anyway, I will be sure to adjust my timepieces properly, and advise you to do the same.  Since I do not own and GPS parafanlia, and most of my clocks are wound, this should not take to much time. (heh heh).

I have been working on making these felted footies for several members of the family.  They are cozy wool slippers, knit up and then felted in the washing machine.

The pattern works up very quickly, and you can carry several strands of yarn, on some large needles.  I brought the pattern at Countrywool.  I can make one of these footies in about 2 and 1/2 hours or by my time calulations 9,000 seconds.

In closing for the year, and in all seriousness....don't forget to go outside at midnight and look for Sirius.  It will be directly overhead, wishing you a Happy New Year.

burning the candles at both ends

With the passing of the winter solstice, I can be joyful about the fact that we are past the shortest day of the year, and celebrate the few minutes of daylight we are gaining each day.  We have now entered winter officially..and around the rim, it has started off gently.  The grip of frigid weather has released it hold, temporarily...the 40 degree high feels downright balmy in comparison to the single digits of a few weeks ago. The gutters groan and clatter as the ice melts and slides off the eves of the house.

 

But the nights are still long for the most part, and I am literally burning the candle at both ends.  I find myself waking at odd hours of the night, unable to sleep, going over details and unfinished projects in my mind...trying to sort out the knots and snarls of the day.  I think this is due to the fact that I have not had much time for spinning lately...and I usually "defrag" during that pleasant task.

 

As I look out my window, I notice the beautiful clear sky full of stars.  The moon has been so bright on the icy snow, each shadow shows the detail of tree branches and evergreen needles.  "Go back to sleep", my conscious whispers, but my eyes are wide open and I feel quite awake.
The temptation to tip toe down the steps and spin is overwhelming.  There is something calming about spinning in the middle of the night when everyone else is sleeping, and the house is still...and the sky is clear and flooding the room with moonlight.

 

It is in these quite moments that I say my prayers, and think my good thoughts for those I love.  Problems are solved, plans are made, ideas are hatched, inspiration flows like the fiber through my fingers.

Morning comes all to quickly, and I regret the loss of sleep, like I knew I would.  There is just sooooo much to do these days.  I enjoyed my morning coffee, and saw these girls munching on acorns that they found in the road after the snowplow kicked them up.

May the beauty of the season be yours to behold.

a state of coldness

Things are really busy around the rim...the last two storms have kept us very active...just tending to chores takes more time out of the day when the elements are working against us.  Walking around has become a bit of a challenge...opening gates and keeping paths clear requires constant attention- due to frost heaves that have formed during the recent cold snap.

I am busy working on last minute details for the Christmas season...and I don't want to show to many photos in the risk it may give something away...but here are a few sights from my world these days.

The mornings are pretty frosty, and the riverrim is beautiful.  It is something that few people see early in the morning.  The warm waters of the river float up and hit the cold air, causing instant condensation, and therefore the vapors crystallize and fall along the edges of the riverbank.  Sometimes, it looks to me like I am inside a snow globe as the crystals fall slowly and float around on the vapor.  It is difficult to capture with a camera..you must be standing in the correct position for the light to find and reflect the beauty.  By the time the sun comes up the beauty is already melting away.  This phenomena only occurs when the air is colder than the water.

My roosters decided to brave the weather, and came out for a walk today.

Both of them have full beards and long saddles at this time of year.  The Aracuna is a breed that has what is called a pea comb...Pea Combs are a good thing in very cold weather.  They are not as susceptible to frost bite as a regular comb.

I made my jelly this week.  I used Elderberry Juice (from my good neighbor!) that was frozen from this past summer.  This is the first time that I ever froze the juice and made jelly in the winter instead of August.  I have to say that I enjoyed it. It was pleasant to stand near the warm stove, and smell the fruit.  Usually, when I am making jelly in the summer...I am sweating over the stove and complaining about how hot the stove makes the house.  Also, the jelly was very clear, as any sediment was settled at the bottom of the container of juice.

Well, back to work...'tis the season you know...

Well, we have surpassed our monthly average snowfall already..as the most recent storm dropped about 11 inches on us.  A good portion of the day on Friday was spent moving it out of the way.

Still, as hard as it is shoveling it out of the designated pathways, it  looks beautiful when it falls off the trees in clumps and swirls. 

Down at the confluence today, a few brave souls were fishing.  If you have your binoculars on, you can see the eagle sitting in the tree behind them....see it??...the eagle is smack dab in the middle of the tree.

I have appropriated my sons music stand for use with my 3ft. triloom.
It works just fine, and allows me a more comfortable position while I weave.

Decided to make a nice pot of pea soup today...and cannot help but think of silly rhymes.

Peas porridge hot..peas porridge cold...in the pot 9 days old....also...what did you have for breakfast? (pea soup)..what did you have for lunch? (pea soup)...what did you do all night?? (well, you see where this is going).  I like pea soup, and wonder why it got such a bad rap.

light

The low last night was 11 degrees.  The sun is getting up later and later...and lower and lower.  I come down to make the coffee this morning...the house is cool, so I open the draw on the coal stove, and throw on a piece of kindling to kick things up a notch.  I look out the window and the sun is trying its best to show itself.

Ahh yes, December.  Long nights and cold days.  The trees stand naked, the blossom has become seed....even the river seems to have a slow flow about it.  Snow has started to fall (along with the mercury)...and the wind howls through the river valley.  So begins our final descent down to the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year.  I notice the changes, but most of all I notice the change of light (or lack of it thereof)...short days are upon us.  Monthly snowfall, averages of about 10 inches..will fall from now until March..those short days are full of stratus cumulus clouds and squally.  Grey and white.  Without the warm glow of the sun, I see grey and white.
 
The rabbits will now get crocks of water in place of the bottles.  I also added foot boards in the hutches.  The snow is crunchy under my feet as I go about my chores.

 
The glass door on the henhouse was beautiful this morning.

The chickens took one look at the snow flying and decided not to come out to play.  I brought them some milk soaked bread for a diversion.

I have finished my second Irish Hiking Scarf.  I made it from the Border Leister fleece that I purchased from Betty Levin at the Maryland Sheep and wool festival...seems like ages ago.  I will gift this scarf to the owner of the antique store where my Great Wheel came from.  The previous Irish Hiking scarf that I knit- went to the previous owner of my Ashford Traditional...so I thought it was only fitting to make another.

Today, we baked cookies for the soldiers.  We met at the firehouse, and it was nice to share the company of fine friends while baking favorite homemade treats.  We made some chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, choodles, peanutbutter cookies and spritzs.  Many hands make light work.  I am happy to contribute to this loving chore...but it saddens me to think of these young men and women over in Iraq, far from home during the Christmas Season.  The family members must miss each other terribly.

 

It was already getting dark by the time I got home...and it was getting colder too!  I was happy to get home in time to kick the stove up again...I am warmed by the glow..."Is it any wonder that there are so many festivals of light which gather in the valley of the year?" 

one for the money

One for the money....

two for the show...

three to get ready...

tomorrow I go...

I have finished the mobius scarf (mohair wool blend), and the cut length logcabin pattern scarf.  And I have scoured the wool that I will be spinning.

Tomorrow is the last show of the season, and I am happy about that.

I was somewhat happy with how the mobius scarf turned out.  It is nice when you pull it up around your head, but I think next time, I may want to add a finished edge to it.  I think it would define the face better that way.

I like the way the log cabin pattern gives an illusion of a basketweave.  It takes a little bit of planning up front, but once all the yarn is cut and in place, the weaving goes quickly.

We had a bit of snow today, but they say early next week- we will have an "event".