Postings and Ramblings

Maybe third time is charm.

Twice this week I've started blogging, both times my ramblings were close to the finish line when something interrupted and I lost both. For some reason the saved drafts can't be found. I'm determined to post this tonight. Ed is on the MAC, the preferred computer with both of us, so I'm using the HP with the browser Foxfire. Lo and Behold, there're more options in blogger on this pc, things not found with Mac's Safire. Huge pet peeve: the lack of respect shown to the Mac World by designers!

News on the knitting front: Jury Sox are finished. They are cotton and feel so nice. I knew you'd ask what they're made from but my mind is drawing a total blank, and no, I'm not about to leave this computer and go rooting through the yarn bag by my chair, the way blogging has gone this week I must perservere until finished. I bought the yarn at KnitPurl in Portland if that's any help. LOL

Progress is being made on the two items for upcoming birthdays. Every free moment when certain people aren't around I'm knitting. Pictures will be posted after birthdays, in just a couple weeks. Yikes! Birthday shopping to be done. (I hate shopping.)

Meanwhile Aurora and I are trying to be more faithful about exercising. Once a routine is established it's easy to roll out of bed by six and hit the roads but we keep sleeping until just after six which means a short quick walk five blocks up the hill, around and back home. Tuesday there wasn't even time for that so after dd left for work I loaded Kobie in the car and drove to the top of the hill (only a mile) to the field of oats and the woods beyond.

It'd been over a year since I last walked through the woods down into the small bowl of a valley with its field and a small murky pond heavily guarded by trees. When the kids were young we often packed a picnic lunch and hiked down there. A sweeping maple tree near the field had a level limb welcoming us to climb aboard, eat lunch and read aloud from what ever book we were lost in. (The kids loved to have me read to them until high school busyness interfered.)

Walking through the trees a sense of rightness and peace slowly seeped through my skin and settled deep. Hiking, or riding my horse, alone for hours at a time used to be such an intregal part of my life. The past few years have sidetracked me with a soulsucking busyness and I've forgotten how to take time to ramble. I need to. I need to be outside soaking up the earth, sky, scents and sounds, being alone with my thoughts and God. Restoring my soul.

I was grazing on luscious blackberries when my eye caught a glimpse of red near my feet. A perfect red maple leaf. Along with the tint of fall in the air and a sadness to some trees now there is this visible sign.

Aurora called just a bit ago. She suggested we get up at 6 and do another Polar bear swim in the creek tomorrow. Sure, we'll see how that goes.

I'm so not looking forward to tomorrow. It's Summerfest day in Scotts Mills. The Friends Church will be serving pancake breakfast. Aurora & I need to be at the grange at 7am (and when are we going to swim?) to help set up. We'll be there until around noon. (Breakfast 8 - 11 if anyone wants to stop in! Homemade oatmeal pancakes hot off the griddles, Octoberfest sausage, scrambled eggs, and applesauce for donations.) The parade is at 10am. Ed helped at VBS every morning this week. They built a float for tomorrow's parade. He came home soaking wet today. The theme was Noah's Ark so of course they had a water fight at the end. :-)This town is filled with boys, they outnumbered the girls about 5-1 at VBS. Ed's good with kids, they like his gruff humor. From 1-3p.m. Crooked Finger Strings Band will be playing. We play an ecletic assortment: Beatles, Dylan, Clapton, Lightfoot, along with traditional bluegrass and celtic stuff. I've hardly touched the fiddle all summer. That's what I should be doing right now.

(Break while dil and her mom stopped by to pick up our huge pot and quick shade for tomorrow.) DIL is doing a cake walk for SMF in the afternoon. It was a hit last year. This morning I baked cookies and a couple of apple cakes for it.

Interest in the Turkish Spindle has picked up thank to Jo and Ann! You should take a look at the pictures they each posted. Incredible photography.

I wish everyone who's interested could actually handle them. It's hard to describe how good they look and feel. Of course I'm partial but Ed works hard to get them well balanced so each one has a long, fast, consistent spin.

Urgh!I've been having so much difficulty getting pictures to load this week. I'd forgotten that was the reason the first blog of the week didn't get finished. It's taking forever for them to load. I've managed in over an hour to load just one! I'm giving up for tonight, perhaps tomorrow.