How Can It Be Memorial Day Already?

Memorial Day, 2010

It's hard to believe that it is the end of May already. 2010 is flying by. Memorial Day makes me think of the days of my childhood. We would go to our camp and spend the weekend and then come home for the parade on Monday. My father, as a veteran of World War II, and a past commander of the American Legion felt it was important that we be here for the parade and the ceremony afterward at the park where the veterans both fallen and still living were honored. My dad taught us the importance of remembering the men and women who have served our country and kept us safe. So if you see a veteran or current member of the service today be sure to say thank you. And buy a poppy too!

I woke up to the smell of smoke and heard a neighbor saying that there is a wild fire burning nearby. Not a good thing because it has been a dry spring.

I dropped Conor in Saranac Lake at The Whiteface Club on Thursday to begin his career as a dishwasher, or dishmonster, as they are called in our family. He will have his sister and brother as his immediate supervisors. It should be an interesting experience for them all. It's a sort of trial to see how Conor will do for the summer, and when I spoke to all three yesterday evening he was doing great-he'd even worked a double that day. The Whiteface Club is on Lake Placid in a beautiful setting, and they get to enjoy the outdoors a little bit when they are driving the golf cart between two restaurants.

A photo of Caitlin and Travis on their way to work, all ready to cook a wedding dinner for 113 wedding guests. They used 2 1/2 pounds of garlic in the dinner prep. I think that is a crazy amount of garlic, even for 113 people. Doesn't Caitlin look happy to be posing for a photo for her mom?

Here's Conor. We stopped in Gabriels on our way home so I could take photos of the Adirondack mountains.

Here is wandering son, Tim, looking at mountains that are a wee bit bigger than the mountains I am heading too. He is on an island south of Thailand getting his master diving certification. Tim is then booking it to the border ( I think his vis will be up) and going to Malaysia before he returns to western Australia and a job at a resort. A small part of me was hoping that he wouldn't get a job, because that would have meant a return home. But I am mostly happy that he is able to continue his great adventure.

In spinning news, we have a new member in our spinning group-my friend Suzanne. She decided she wanted to start spinning and after researching on the web and talking with spinners chose aKromski Minstrel and she is doing fantastically well.

It's nice to have a new spinning fanatic in our midst. And an unexpected plus is that Suzanne rarely plays Farmville anymore. This is a much more constructive use of time, in my humble opinion.

I dyed the fiber that was spun in the photo above. It's superwash merino and is really soft and fun to spin. I'm having a 20% off Memorial Day sale in my Etsy shop. Put the code Poppy in the message to seller and I will refund 20% to your paypal account. The sale runs until Tuesday at midnight EDT. Happy shopping!

It's time to get ready to go pick up the boy and his brother too. Travis is going to spackle and paint so I can get the house on the market. Wish us luck!

Here's what I will be driving toward in just a little bit. I do love those beautiful mountains, and hope to some day be living there.

Traveling Son Report

For those who have been reading this blog for a while, you may remember that my oldest son Tim took a 3 month, (make that 6 month, now a year) trip to Australia. Having had me as a mother for 27 years, he eased me into the length of his stay by gradually increasing the time he planned to be away. I just received an email from Tim telling me he was on a bus on his way to Shangra-La. That sounds so romantic.

Thank goodness for Wikipedia. Geography is not one of my strong suits (if you want to beat me at Trivial Pursuit, choose Geography as my final category), so I turn to Wikipedia to see where Tim is. His adventures have included the east and west coast of Australia, Tasmania (he didn't see a Tasmanian Devil), Kuala Lumpur (the capital of Malaysia), Hong Kong to get a Visa to enter China (like New York City on acid), Shanhai to visit a friend (lingered there longer than expected due to a lost ATM card) , to visit Leaping Tiger Gorge (I have advised him to take the low road, not the high road-it's safer) and Shangra La (a stopping point on the trip to Leaping Tiger Gorge). The next stop on his itinerary is to travel to Thailand to meet up with a friend. I am so proud of Tim because one of the reasons he took this trip was to push past his fears and things that were holding him back from exploring the world, and he certainly has accomplished his goal. It is especially amazing to me that he is undertaking this journey by himself. I think that he must now know that there is nothing that he can't do, which is a wonderful lesson to learn at such a young age. And I have grown too, because I no longer assume he is dead if I haven't heard from him for three days. If you would like to check it out, he has written a few posts about his adventures at Tim Out: Australia.

Tim and his host Hunch in front of Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. I guess you can figure out that it's Tim on the right. The red beard is a new addition

In more mundane news, I have added some new yarn and fiber to my shop. I dyed some worsted weight yarn in some colors that make me wish I had a little girl to knit for. The first makes me think of a field of wildflowers in the spring and the second was inspired by one of my favorite flowers, Gerber daisies. They are such bright and cheerful flowers.

I've also been dyeing a little fiber.

"Jewel Box" in superwash bluefaced leicester. A member of my spinning group wanted jewel toned fiber to spin and knit socks for her daughter.

And "Ocean Blues" in Merino/Tencel fiber. I guess I'm anxious for summer to arrive because it seems that I've been dyeing colors that make me think of warm weather and sunshine.

Time to remove the sleeping cat from my arm and take a shower. Speaking of sleeping cats, here is a photo of Seamus sleeping after becoming totally exhausted the last time my spinning group met at my house. There is something very exciting to the cats about all that fiber and the ten spinning wheels that were here.

It Looks Like I Lied

It seems that I wasn't really back when I said I was on March 16th. I apologize, and hope that there are one or two people still checking this old, sad blog. It's been a difficult few months. I'm hoping the arrival of spring and some sunshine are going to be helpful.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about this blog, and I have missed writing, but felt blocked from writing. This is supposed to be a knitting, spinning and dyeing blog with bits of my life thrown in. Part of what has inhibited me and stopped me from writing is those constraints I have place on myself. I am removing those constraints, so when you check in here I can't guarantee what you will find. There's no question there will still be dyeing, spinning and knitting but I have a feeling more of my real life will be sneaking in, I've also changed the name of the blog to Moonlight and Laughter, but the address is still the same-www.dyeingtospin.blogspot.com.

That being said, lets talk about dyeing. I have been busily dyeing fiber for the monthly Spindies Artists' Paintbox and Complements Box. The colors this month are still a secret but they both remind me of the ocean, and make me miss New Jersey. Travis is in Atlantic Highlands now visiting, and I am envious. I need to get down there before I have to start that stupid full time job that is looming in my future.

I will be making batts for the Phat Fiber Sampler box today at some point. The fiber is all dyed and ready to blend into batts. The theme this month is Blossoms and Bark. I dyed some worsted weight yarn in pretty blossom colors inspired by apple blossoms and gerber daisies, and now am making a bark batt inspired by a walk Travis, Cailtin, Conor and their friend Brian and I took into an old growth Adirondack forest a couple of years ago.

It was an awe inspiring experience, seeing these giant trees that had withstood all the harshness that is a part of the nature of the Adirondacks for hundreds of years.

Iit was hard to take photos that could show the grandeur and immensity of these beautiful, ancient trees. I think showing us standing beside one helps a little in showing their size.

It was a day I will always remember-a beautiful, crisp fall day in the Adirondacks, sharing it with my children and their friend and being totally awed by nature once again. I feel so fortunate to live in an area that has such beauty, and I truly am inspired by that nature when it comes to the fiber colors I create.

It's time to go and have some coffee. I am also inspired by Tim's great coffee. It helps keep me going and is so delicious that I have been spoiled when it comes to drinking other coffee. And some very exciting news is that he is buying a coffee shop and is going to be adding a bakery too. I can't wait-it's going to be so much fun.