Friday, October 31, 2008

Tug says "Happy Halloween"!

Not really, he wasn't all that happy but he was cute!

This Holiday has always intrigued me; I guess I could be defined as an agnostic. Its not that I don't believe in God, I just have so many questions. I am one of those people that needs something palpable in order to believe there is a higher power than that which we already, as human beings, possess. The power of choice, of self-reliance, and our own will. I have always been drawn to the evolution of Christianity and other religions, and still hope someday to study Theology.

It is widely known that Halloween has its roots in Paganism, and when the powers that be (were) in Christendom tried to root it out as such, they came to the realization that in order to bring pagans over to their way of thinking, they needed to adopt at least some of their culture into Christian practices.

Here is the story as put up by History.com, of All Hallows Eve;

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).

The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.
During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.
By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.

The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.

By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

This is Tough...



Dori Ann of Danes and Things has done me the honor of saying I'm a "Kreativ Blogger"!

Comes with this reward a great responsibility
Here are the rules for receiving this award: (optional)
1. Mention the blog that gave you the award & comment on their blog when you post the award.
2. List 6 things you VALUE & 6 things you DON'T VALUE.
3. Then, pass the award on to 6 other blog buddies!

I don't know much about Dori Ann, but for the short time I have been reading her blog, I have enjoyed it very much :)

6 things I value:
My husband and children
My freedom
Sheep and everything they provide me with
Our dogs, cats, birds and Chilli the Chinchilla
All friends and family (mother, sister, nephews and nieces)
My country

Ok, that was a bit sappy... ;-)

Things I don't value:
It is difficult to say really, I am a generally happy kinda gal and don't take much to negativity. I guess that would be one thing; I don't tolerate negative people well. I try to live by a certain code, so I don't respect people who lie or steal to further their own ends. I know that's not six, but you'll have to be good with that :)

Who to pass this on to... I am not going to ask anyone else to pass this on, so if your blog is mentioned, you are under no obligation to do so.

Willow's Rest: The stories of her (and her dogs/sheep) exploits and opinions never bore me!
Sheep Thrills: Always a good read, never a dull moment!
Older Rose: Soooo talented! AND she LOVES her tunis sheep!
On Clinch Mountain: Gotta appreciate her talent with a clicker :)) (and her tunis sheep!)
Desert Peach: Beautiful person, gorgeous sheep, and a talented hand at dying!
In Stitches: Educated and entertaining, I feel like I've known you forever.
Purple Fuzzy Mittens: Talent with a camera as I have not personally known before, witty and tireless!
(...six is too few...)

All the blogs I visit I do so because they interest me in one way or another, and my day wouldn't be the same without seeing them. You're all great!! ...in fact, if you just look to the left, you will see all my "Favorite Places" :)

Monday, October 27, 2008

On to Other Things

I didn't sit down here today to depress everyone, but to share some of what I've been doing this last week/end.
Some of the colors from 3 posts ago... I love the variegation that Mim's dying produces!
This is Mim's heart of gold, the picture doesn't do it justice; it is a peachy yellow, very very pretty!
Here is some of the shetland I bought from Michelle at Boulderneigh, it spins up to a nice heather grey.
This is my latest brainiac scheme; scrunchies! I asked a local salon if they would sell them for me so have been making them a few at a sitting. It takes about a half hour to make. They are all from handspun, what would you charge?
These are some of the yarns I am going to use to make more scrunchies.

I have been looking at lots of crochet paterns, I have found an endless supply of ideas on Ravelry and have found links there to other sites with endless free and for a fee paterns. Maybe I will start doing something more elaborate with my handspun than scarfs and scrunchies...

I have also started to practice knitting again, although if I can get away with it, I will stick to hooking. I know it better and am more comfortable with it.



Here is a handful of shetland from one of Mim's sheep, I almost bought him this last summer and almost wish I had. I will start flicking it and spinning it as soon as I'm done with Heart of Gold.

One other thing. On top of hay problems and daughter problems (and depresion problems) sometime yesterday, the hampshire ewe we bought in Ohio bloated and died. Oi! What a weekend.

A Memorial, Three Years Later...

I feel sometimes like I bring my blog followers down with talk of Tad. This is a subject that parents as a whole avoid, it is hard for anyone to hear someone talk of the most painful of losses, because as parents, it is the nightmare of nightmares, the horror story of a lifetime, something better left alone in the darkest corners of the deepest part of the night.
I share here because it is easier to type than it is to talk, and I appreciate all of your good wishes and sympathies more than any of you know.

So here it is, 3 years to the day after the accident that took my first born's life. As I have said in earlier posts, it is getting a bit easier to deal with everyday mundane matters that mean absolutely nothing to me now. Necessity causes me to deal with them; things like paying bills, power (I notice I haven't paid it when my power goes off), satellite tv (my hubby informs me when the service stops), garbage (they hang a red tag from the can), and other little things that slip past me seemingly monthly. Yes I keep a list, and I work on it often, my brain just doesn't seem to care.

We are going to go to the cemetery today, something I guess I don't do enough. I have always been of the mind that the person I loved isn't there, why should I go to such a dreary place to visit them? Not sure what the answer to that is, but I am always working on it.

Thanks for being here :)

Friday, October 24, 2008

Camera, MIA

I've been a busy girl! Is it just me, or does everybody have 15 different things going on when they have no focus in their lives???

Unfortunately, I cant find my camera and I need visuals! Makes it easier to relate. I've been looking for it for a couple days now, as soon as I find it (or steal my adopted daughter's) I will have an interesting post to share, until then don't give up on me!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

COLOR!!!

I am normally a 'natural' color kind o' gal.

But these colors just called to me :)

I went to the dreaded Deposition on Monday, I lived, but I don't want to have to do it again; my lawyer said I wont have to. As soon as I made good my escape, I made a bee line to Mim's house where Mim was trying to recover from her trip to visit her sister. She had just gotten back and I felt kinda like a heel for barging in on her but she made me feel welcome like she always does. Thank you again Mim!

Mim does such beautiful dying, I need to remember to leave my check book at home when I go to visit her; I am not going to tell you how much I spent, just in case my DH takes it into his head to read this ;-)
From the left, 'Heart of Gold' merino; variegated red BFL, spun (just enough variegation it makes it look shimmery); orange corriedale; magenta corriedale (gifted, she didnt like the way it turned out); green BFL; and last but definitely not least, shades of green silk! Ohhhhhh there is just not enough time in the day! Fiber therapy went well!

I also got to visit Sharon, for a few minutes anyway :)

There is no better cure for stress than friends.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Projects, plans, derailed...

Well, that thing I was working on got derailed. Along with my job.

I was laid off from my job last Tuesday; I saw it coming, have known it was coming since they moved my office last year. I have been, in the past, office manager, database manager and drafter for this small exploratory gold outfit for 8 years, when all of a sudden we became a mine.

Offices sprang up in Winnemucca. I was removed from my small office in Battle Mountain, where I was making wages to fit my duties and where I worked alone, to a multi-personed office in Winnemucca, 45 mins away. There they had staff to pay bills and manage the larger offices, and we had a head geo that liked to do his own drafting on a computer screen. There went my office management position along with my drafting board. I became an over paid flunky. All I was able to do at that point was data entry.

Last week when I heard they were going to start doing data entry through 'tablets' I realized it was only a matter of time before the 'over paid flunky' would be laid off.

I called it! Or prophesized it... something.

So I got derailed. Although I expected it, it still leaves me unbalanced and uncertain of the future. I'm not a young lady anymore, not sure how job hunting is going to go. Unemployment doesn't come close to the wages I was making.

On top of that, I have to go to depositions in Reno on Monday in regards to the accident that took my sons life. I am hoping to temper that with a visit to my friend Mim's, (maybe get to see other friend Sharon?)along with a quick trip to Loma Rica (The Wool Ranch) for some serious Fiber Therapy.

So, I have lots of pics in my camera to share, along with some of my derailed, on hold project...

Shetland/mohair blend; bought in Ohio the past summer. I had to recard it, it was really compressed. Turned into nice little batts!
The above blend in transition. Very nice halo!
Romney mentioned in an earlier post as a bat, below after-wheel version...


Beautimous romeldale cross wool mini rovings. This is my feel good wool, it makes my soul feel good... After carding I pull strips off and pre-draft.


Left: derailed project that includes (ehem!) comercial cotton (I have neither the patience or the time to spin cotton right now)
Middle: above mentioned 'feel good wool'
Right: three skeins of Shetland/Mohair blend pictured above.
More 'feel good wool', I have never worried about whether I was spinning woolen or worsted, but have realized lately that all my yarn is worsted. I have decided to try to spin this woolen by spinning out of the locks and from the fold. I will let you all know how it turns out!

Back to it!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

I Started A Group!

I have decided that I love to process raw wool. Yeah, I still like the rovings and will always send stuff to Morro, but the hands on will never take a back seat to it.

So, I went looking to see if there were any groups on Ravelry that were dedicated to processing raw wool. There wasn't, but there is now :)

Introducing "Raw Wool Lovers Unite!", a new and (apparently) exciting group for people who either love to process their own wool at home or want to learn how!

I wasn't sure how it would go over, but since yesterday there are 61 members and all are there either to learn or to contribute, to share their love of raw wool.

If you're on Ravelry already, come share your knowledge, or soak up someone elses. If you're not on Ravelry, you should be :)

Thursday, October 2, 2008

A Riddle Game


Everyone is talking about eggs!

Blue ones, brown ones, pink ones and broken ones!

If I had chickens, I would be talking about them, I will have them again someday :)

I am working on something right now, and wont post pics until Im done, so I thought we could have some fun.


"A box without hinges or lid, but inside a golden treasure is hid"


Another time and place, some might have a hard time with the answer to this riddle. Obviously, it is an egg, but can anyone tell me where the riddle came from, who made it famous and how?

To the winner goes a hardy congrats and bragging rights ;-)