Purling Oaks

Sun, Snow, and Mussels

Today was a beautiful and sunny, though rather cold, day. I climbed into the Jeep and drove to Madison for my first lesson at the Apple store on my new MacBook. There are a bunch of new and nifty features in Leopard and Apple has made this level of the OS even more consumer friendly. I'm not a new Mac user so it isn't all new but the improvements are pretty nifty. The Apple Store is in the West Towne Mall so it is quite a drive for me but today was worth the drive. On my way back home I just happened to stop at Stitchers Crossing for some thread but a few other items came home with me. I haven't been in there in a while and I definitely felt the urge to enhance my stash. I kept the enhancement to reading material and a cool purse implement. Oh, but the new fabrics and there is a new Trekking sock yarn! /sigh.

When I returned home, DH asked me if I had heard the forecast for Sunday. I said sure, it's snow, right? Yeah, up to 11 inches of snow by Sunday evening. I don't have to travel that day. However, it is a little worrisome since my mom is flying back from warm California on the Saturday redeye flight and is due in Sunday morning. I know she'll be fine but I'll be happy when she's back home and cozy with the dog.

So, with the coming snow in mind, I went outside and looked for the good stuff. Here is our sunset this evening and a temperature check.
In case those of you in warmer temperatures think this snow blogging is just a ruse, I give you piles of snow.
The pile on the left is actually our yard rock and the big pile on the right is about six feet tall and courtesy of the bobcat that had to reallocate snow in our yard so they could continue to clear the driveway. I know I'm not the only Wisconsinite thinking back to the 1960's and the piles of snow we had then. I wonder if this is the first year of the next cycle of big snowfalls? I really need to knit more socks!

And finally, DH made some mussels for dinner. We can highly recommend the Fond du Lac Seafood Company. DH started out with finely chopped onions, garlic, and a bit of salt cooked down in olive oil. Add about four ounces of Fino sherry and when the mixture is boiling, throw in the mussels. When they are open they are done. (Toss the ones that don't open.)

Some explanations and a FO, in a way...

Thank you for the feedback on the mobile post. I thought the post would look different than using my mac to post but, at least on Safari, there is no difference. I downloaded TypePad for Windows Mobile 6 to the phone and it was very easy to use. The photos were taken using the phone camera and look pretty nice. I used the camera's mosaic feature and just snapped pictures of a few things with no real theme in mind. In the upper left photo is of a partially consumed bottle of Fiji water. I had a bottle this past summer when I was in Kansas during the "don't drink the tap water" problem. I really liked it so I drink it regularly...perhaps I am silicon-deficient so it tastes good to me. There is also the Spring 2007 Spin-Off (good eyes, Stacey!), and one of the walkie-talkies we use at home so we don't have to holler. The walkie-talkie is in action since DH came home sick Thursday morning after being struck with the flu on Tuesday evening in his hotel room up north. I'm doing my best to be helpful to him but not catch the bug. Cross your fingers for me.

The lower left photo is a close up of the embroidery on the bag my brother brought me from Costa Rica. It is going to be a great knitting project bag.

In the upper right photo is my aloe vera plant. Everyone should have one in case of getting a burn. It really helps your skin heal quickly.

A closeup photo of my first hank of handspun is in the lower right. Thanks, Kim, for the comment that it looked like Malabrigo; you really pepped up my day. The fiber is wool but, what variety, I don't remember. I know I purchased it in a "learn to spin" kit from Miekle's Farm at the Wisconsin Spin-In when it was held in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, several years ago. I spun a full spindle then set it aside. Time passed. *ahem* The fiber suffered a flood and a summer in a sunroom. Then I spun a bobbin of the rest of it on my wheel. The spindle yarn (multi-colored ties) was 65 yards and weighed 45 grams while the wheel spun yarn (purple ties) was 49 yards and weighed 58 grams. The last photo is after I soaked the yarn (set the twist, hopefully) and thwacked it against the side of the shower, then let it hang with a weight to dry. I'm leaving them as singles. I cleared the spindle and bobbin just to get the yarn finished, you know? Yes, it has been years.

Is this thing on???

This is a test of the Purliing Oaks mobile posting system. Don't be alarmed, it is only a test.

Deep water

Ever jump in the pool and realize you couldn't touch the bottom?

I signed up for Ravelry and finally received my invitation in August. Cool. Ravelry is a wonderful place even in beta. However, to take full advantage of the projects and stash functions, I needed a Flickr account. Oh geez, another account, password, and other stuff to remember...but I really liked Ravelry, so I opened a Flickr account and managed to successfully upload photos so that I could then upload them to my Ravelry pages. Great.....that works super. Life is busy, so if stuff isn't broken, I'm not going to worry. Several months pass.

Here I am now. It is after the holidays and 2008 is getting off to a good start. I'm nearing the end of a two-week plus vacation and I'm feeling good and ready to try new things. I am participating in NaSpiMoMo for the month of January to develop my spinning skills and I signed up for the ABC Along to nudge my creativity and find out more about my Canon PowerShot SD 600. (I've had the camera for almost a year now.) The ABC Along has a companion Flickr group, so I got an email from Vicki via Flickr that she added me as a contact. What in the heck is a contact? But Vicki is "hosting" the ABC Along and I asked to be added to the Flickr group so I followed the email trail and *presto* now I'm part of the Flickr group.

Today I got a Flickr notice that a member of the ABC Along Flickr group added me as a contact. Hmm, okay, sounds fine to me, I guess. I better find out what a contact is and see if I should be *contacting* other people. Is a contact the same as a family or friend in Flickr? Or, is it like "friending" someone in Ravelry? So, I read a bit more in Flickr that I can send, that is, email photos to my blog from Flickr or from my mobile phone to Flickr. Flickr and email? There is so much depth to Flickr and to Ravelry. I'll just dog-paddle here for a while while I figure out how to swim in these new pools. Anybody know where there are some waterwings? *g* Should I even be swimming here? Hey, are there sharks? Seriously, I believe there are but probably the same ones I may see in the Internet ocean.

ETA: My post today was meant to bemoan my lack of knowledge of the sites mentioned--certainly not to infer anything negative about any person. I just am just a bit behind the rest of the pack in being proficient with Flickr. Now I know how my mother feels.

I thrive in conflict?!?

Today is Vicki's birthday! Go wish her a happy one! We found out this year that we are very close in age - just two days apart. I think that is kind of cool. Happy Birthday, Vicki!

Which sci-fi crew would you best fit in with? (pics) created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) You have entered the dark side of the Star Trek universe. The paradise of Earth is far from you and you must survive despite having enemies on all fronts. But you wouldn't have it any other way because you thrive in conflict and will know what needs to be done to take care of those around you. Now if only the Founders would quit trying to take over the galaxy. Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) 81% Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) 81% Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica) 75% Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) 75% Serenity (Firefly) 63% SG-1 (Stargate) 63% Moya (Farscape) 56% Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix) 50% FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files) 44% Bebop (Cowboy Bebop) 44% Heart of Gold (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) 31% Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda) 19% Enterprise D (Star Trek) 19%

Found at And She Knits, Too!

Winding in preparation

I'm back home tonight -- getting in a few loads of laundry in preparation for not being home much this weekend. I've got tomorrow off from work. Tomorrow, I have a car repair appointment that I'm trying to move up to the ultra-earliest time to get a recall taken care of. Apparently, the wheels can fall off my Jeep if I don't fix this, so I want to get this finished because I don't think there will be much time for it in the near future. After the car get fixed, I head north for an appointment with my folks and my dad's caregivers to talk about hospice care.

I'm preparing for plenty of knitting so I also made a few balls from skeins tonight.

DH always queries me "Now, how many points did I get for?......" in good fun when ever I set up the Strauch Jumbo Ball Winder and floor swift & skein winder/unwinder. These are the most wonderful tools a knitter or spinner could have!

And they make good kitty toys, too!