A Women's Work Is Never Done...

It's embarrassing to admit, but I think I have a mental disorder - compulsive project start-chosis. In the yarn category, I have two unfinished afghans, two pairs of gloves, one hat, a dishcloth, and a cat bed. There are also five sweaters I bought at Goodwill to frog and experiment with.

Re my house, there is a section of kitchen wall under the breakfast bar that I missed when I redid that room last year, and I would finish it except the brushes that were soaking in the utility sink dried out. The flooring has all been replaced except for the laundryroom and florida room; the walls have all been redone except the laundryroom, florida room, diningroom.

And the yard is one big project-in-progress. Which reminds me - I have hyacinth bulbs to plant.

My daughter and her SO took pity on me last night, bringing gifts of art and labor: framed and matted photographs (her) and the tools and talent to hang them (him). They also brought pizza, which we had to eat buffet style as all horizontal surfaces were covered with yarn and/or yarn projects.

And I'm expecting more yarn via UPS any day now.

Somebody stop me!

Gulp!

I received a reply from the IHRS. They are going to call me Friday night to discuss the rabbit adoption. My what-will-be-will-be attitude is rapidly giving way to nervous excitement. A new "baby" in the house!

Now I realize just how much I have been wanting another pet to fill my empty nest. I have tried adding a second cat, but The Princess must have "DOORMAT" stamped on her forehead, as other cats pick on her, including her own sister. I have considered a second dog, and regularly torture myself by viewing available ones at Animal Control, but one set of anal glands is more than enough. Hamsters and rats: good pets, but been there, done that. Birds and reptiles just don't move me.

But a bunny! I feel like I am in my first trimester and want to tell everyone the good news but feel compelled to wait. Except here.

I must be crazy...

We had a great time at the Corydon Fiber Festival, but I was lucky to get out of there without livestock. There were alpacas, sheep (but no babydolls), and angora rabbits, oh my! A while back I considered getting a pet rabbit, but talked myself out of it. Now I am intrigued with the idea of having an angora or two, so I can buy some raw wool and have it spun with the angora for my own special yarn. I went as far as to send an application to the Indiana House Rabbit Society, to see if I can adopt an angora from them. I was honest on the application, stating I wanted the animal for companionship and its fur, so they may reject me. We'll see if it is meant to be.

Among the purchases I did make at the festival were corn yarn and bamboo yarn (see Soy Silk) and needle felting supplies from Big Springs Farm and Fiber. Needle felting is felting without knitting or water, or yarn for that matter - you use roving (carded wool). My NDP Frank bought two shepherd crooks. After petting the lambs, though, neither of us felt up for sheepburgers.

Corydon Fiber Festival

We (my nondomestic partner - NDP - and I) are attending our first fiber festival this weekend, in Corydon, IN. See Corydon Fiber Festival for info. Among the vendors/sponsors are llama and sheep farms, which reminded me of a previous life where I wanted sheep so we wouldn't have to mow, which in turn led me to investigating some sheep breeds. My current fav is Olde English Babydoll Southdowns, a miniature heritage breed with a teddy bear face. See Babydoll Southdowns and Minisheep for photos and information on these sweet creatures. I may have to revive my retirement plans to own and operate a mini farm populated with mini breeds of just about everything.

The Yarn Warrior

I like knitting with metal needles. I like the sound they make: the swish of sharpening a knife or the swash of two swords sliding against each other. I know others like the natural feel of bamboo or the economy of plastic, but give me cold aluminum in shiny colors.

Foliage Viewing

Barberry and burning bush (and gold mop peeking over their shoulders), fall 2006. On the other side a rabbit tunnel leads into this clump of color.

Gadzukes!

I ate the last zucchini last night - thank God!

Actually, I enjoyed trying different recipes this summer, my favorite being two from The Student's Vegetarian Cookbook by Carole Raymond: Pita with Creamy Zucchini and Zucchini and Cheese Pizza. Another easy fave is to shred the zucchini, stir fry with a variety of chopped veggies (and optionally a can of chicken), and serve over rice.

This year's overabundance of zucchini was brought on by homemade compost, a lack of insect pests, and good weather. When creating hills for squash and cukes, I dig a hole approximately one foot by one foot by one foot and fill it with compost; the excavated dirt then becomes the hill, on top of which go the seeds. The plants get off to a slow start, but you can tell when they hit that compost. My other trick is successive plantings - one hill every two weeks, starting after June 1. This late (for our area) start usually bypasses the first flush of squash and cucumber bugs. But this year there were NO bugs. There were not many wasps, either. Is this a good sign or a bad omen?

Backyard Habitat

Everyone wants songbirds in their backyard habitat, but mammals are of questionable value. I have chipmunks and squirrels and rabbits - this is the first year the rabbits have actually been a problem; Liquid Fence seems to be helping spare my younger perennials - but now Woodchuck Wilson has a burrow under my deck. I'm not sure how I feel about that. If he were under the shed in the back corner, I probably would not care, but the deck is too close to being inside my house proper. Wilson inspired me to name my backyard habitat Woodchuck Acres (even though it is only a third of an acre). Not as melodic as Wing Haven or Wildwood, but currently very apt and better than the Skunkworks.