The WoolWytch

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Get it? Got it? Good.

Nah – I’m not ready to make a big splash return right now.  I am reading here though – I promise.

This morning I updated a friend’s webpage – I used to do the entire site gratis, and told him that I just couldn’t do it anymore.

He called me on Friday night and asked me to do it, I told him he had to send me the specs and that I would get to it within business hours.

I’ve always said my weekends were family time – and for something I’m updating as a favor, well in my mind it could wait the weekend.

By late last night I’d gotten a text and two emails asking if the work was done yet and why hadn’t it been done yet.

Unhuh.

I’m not sure if I’ll do any more favors for him like this again.  It was an hours work and I don’t mind updating – as he actually followed my request and gave me the changes he wanted in a separate document, but the weekends are for my family.

*sigh*

ok – off to go have a sneeze fit.  Ragweed season ya know.

Dear arseholes who think they can spam their pharmaceuticals and obsceneties via the WoolWytch Blog.

Go AWAY!

As a survivor of rape, I don’t find it funny that you are commenting here and linking to non consensual sex related community forums and other websites.  I find it highly offensive, and if I could I’d remove your access to the internet forever..

That’s all.

I’m getting around to spinning some of the colorways I’ve had here in my house waiting to be spun. Today was a lovely Turquoise that I have no idea what I’ll name the colorway when done.

Yardage?  No clue, weight – pretty sure it was around four ounces.  WPI – back to something laceweight, before plying it’s 26 WPI. Use?  It will be quite suitable for socks, scarves, mittens – not sure, it will be up to the purchaser to design what their making of it.

Also I finally was able to stock the items into the tgtreasures.etsy.com shop – however I have a few items that I’d like to show off that aren’t in the shop.

This is the baby boy doll

Baby girl doll

Both are greatly loved by my children, and we were instructed that more had to be made for the Etsy shop… so that’s what happened.

Mothers Day was a wonderful day, and I’d love to share pics of the Diva and Calvin but they wern’t really up for posing.  Instead I’ll share a shot of my self and baby Rose, she’s the newest member of the family and my children love her dearly.  I have to say that holding my new niece was  nice, and I was even more astounded that I didn’t have a craving to have a new baby.

She’s a darling baby with a lovely personality – and a bit of a chatterbox when given the chance.

Mom time Ahoy! Holy cow – the ability to write this without a wee one screeching MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY!

Not that I don’t love my little monsters, but sometimes it’s nice to sit with a glass of iced tea, and just relax while waiting to have lunch with a friend. continue reading…

Brick Red Tunis, I'll count the yardage before and after tomorrow for Navajo Plying.

• Red hand-dyed tunis spun – check.
• Aforementioned Tunis now in yarn state and ready for navajo plying tomorrow to demo to Sunny.
• More on the superwash yarn order spun up
• Two bundles of roving dyed
• Baby shoe thrown at my nose by my mother in law
• simple loom created in order to learn the basics of weaving

So yeah – that was a busy day.

Hrm.  I should probably back up and explain about the shoe eh?

ok – My Mother In law crafts with me and carries many things in my store at Etsy.  She’s looking at making leather baby shoes to carry at tgtreasures.  Which I think is a great idea, but I don’t think her sewing machine is really up for the suede.  I just don’t.  Today she decided as much the same and wanted me to see the outcome of her work.  So while I was snuggling my 25 month old on the couch of the basement work room and taking a break from the Yarnzilla order, she asked me to look at it, and before I could get a hand free to catch it, I got a literal boot to the nose.

Moral of that story is Do Not, Under Any Circumstances make friends with your mother in law after a rough start, as eventually she will throw a shoe at you.  Unless you are willing to accept that shoes may be thrown.

I laugh as we really are close now, but it wasn’t always that way.  Amazing how life works out eh?

I thought she was going to die of mortification and then when the shock wore off a little bit we both had a very good laugh over it.

I don’t think that tgtreasures.etsy.com will be carrying baby shoes any time soon however.  Just a suspicion

There are of course, as usual, a couple other things up my sleeves though, and of I have been dying the Rambouillet today to go in my learn to spin kits.  I’ll be adding those back to the Etsy store, and instead of selling meh fiber that is pretty much only good to let beginners use, I’ll be selling some pretty and easy to use fiber that will hopefully be appreciated by the beginners and usable for knitting or crocheting with.  Today was Deep Purple and Green Green day… tomorrow might be a day for yellows, or even… some hand painting… and in silk even.  We’ll see how it goes.

But Mommy - I don't want my picture taken - I'm having a bad hair day.

The Diva is at Grandma’s tonight, and PeterPan is sleeping peacefully on my husbands side of the bed, after not sleeping well last night and only taking a 10 minute nap today.  Poor little man’s eyes were bloodshot and he just looked exhausted.  I’m hoping that he can sleep this funk off as his body is adding injury to insult and he’s cutting another molar.

Broken HitchHiker Flyer... split along the grain.

I got a phone call about a pretty serious subject that I’m going to hold tight for now, but by the end of the month I should be able to share it… and to top things off for me there was a pleasant surprise in my mailbox today.  On Sunday my heart completely broke along with my spinning wheel’s flyer….

Wow did this get here fast!

Today I came home to find this in the mailbox, sent priority from The Merlin Tree.  And again I say – I so love my little HitchHiker, and am excited to be able to use it again.

I am hoping against all hopes that I will be able to buy the Jumbo Flyer for my HitchHiker on April 25.  It’s my birthday in the week before and it’s really the one thing I would like this year.

I just checked my email and found this as a reply.

I can’t say enough about the level of customer service this man provides and how he stands by his product.

Seriously – they are an awesome little wheel and I am madly in love with mine.

I certainly can bring a flyer to CT or send one to you right away (N/C).

I will have several DTs at CT but will put a “sold” tag on one.

Thanks,

Dave

Dave,

Not sure how this happened as the kids have
 been far away from the wheel today and no
one was supposedly around, but I came back
from grabbing a cuppa coffee to find the
flyer broken in two.

Will this be covered by warranty and can
you bring a replacement to the
CT show on the 25Th?

Also. I would like to reserve a DT HitchHiker
as a friend who is coming with me will be
purchasing it.

Thanks,

Morri
woolwytch.com

Now I have to decide if I want him to ship it or if I can wait 2 weeks….

Tonight was a rough one for leaving The Diva at my mother in law’s house… after spending a typical Wednesday there and getting some spinning done, some site promotion for the Etsy shop and an update to the WoolWytch.blogspot.com site, as well as teaching my MIL how to actually post in her blogspot account again, I bid goodnight to my beloved 4 year old daughter, and took my two year old son home.

A typical sleep over night for her, and time for him to get some one on one time with Mommy and Daddy – something every child should have, and something we believe in fully.

He let out the most pitiful of cries as we left – wailing his sister’s name in grief, as if we were separating them forever, and she in turn started crying too. After reassuring her that we were only a phone call away, Calvin and I came home, had dinner with Dorian and the little guy got some one on one time with both parents. I called and checked on her, and while she was subdued, she was pretty much over it. The little man had a blast, as previously expected and forgot that his sister wasn’t home..

He’s been more verbal lately, and his imagination has been on overdrive – this morning he covered himself up with a blue blanket and roared at me, causing me to shriek out “oh no! it’s the blue blanket monster” to which he roared more and giggled profusely.

He’s growing up. It doesn’t mean we always understand him though.

So after dinner and while we were watching TV, he stands on a Rubbermaid bin I had situated at the end of the couch with hand spun/dyed yarn in it. He leans on the arm of the couch, standing on one leg and puts the other leg in the air, and lets out with gusto the following

Mumma! I PEEPANTS

I look at him and wonder if he’s trying to tell me he peed his pants.

So I ask him this and he says vehemently “NO”

Mumma, Dadah, I’m PEAPAH!

Ok – I was completely not sure what he was saying but I said back to him “Oh you are, are you” in that humoring voice a mother can get…

He smiled and said “Yes!”

and then said again

“I’m Pea Paaaaaaaaaaaaahhn”

I repeated it over and over and over in my head – trying to figure out what my little boy was saying when it struck me.

“You’re Peter Pan?”

This was met with an ecstatic and joyous shout of “YES!” and again he repeated “I’m Pea Paaaaaaaaaaaaahhn”

“I’m Pea Paaaaaaaaaaaaahhn”

“I’m Pea Paaaaaaaaaaaaahhn”

“I’m Pea Paaaaaaaaaaaaahhn”

“I’m Pea Paaaaaaaaaaaaahhn”

With such glee and delight while pretending to fly, that all I could do is giggle and be proud of him.

The Diva didn’t start pretending she was Lara Croft until she was nearly 4.  Calvin’s only 2 and the creativity and imagination he has just astounds me.

I guess it is true – all you need is faith, trust and pixie dust and you can do/be anything/anyone.

Oh the joy of a child. It truly is bliss.

Strategy Couponing
Based on a friend’s experiences with cutting her grocery bill to next to nothing (in fact this week she didn’t have to buy anything) I got a membership over at the Grocery Game. Finances are a little snug this week, and I need to get the most I can for my $, and short of going to Aldi (which is an option I have no problem with) I am in need of spending less than 100.00 on groceries for the four of us for the week.

The grocery game site provides strategies on effective couponing and how to stock pile things when you have the extra coupons for them. Put it this way – folks in the Gulf who are members of this site made it through without worrying about having enough food when they were let back home because they had stocked freezers that were so well stocked that a couple of bags of ice to fill the space was all that was needed to keep the frozen stuffs going when they were without power and when no one else in the area had milk and bread, they did. (along with other sundries as well – they weren’t hurting at all.)

I’ve always been a believer in a well stocked pantry, a byproduct I am sure of my early childhood in Backwoods Michigan, where you needed to be prepared to be snowed in for days at a time, and getting out in winter might not be as easy as you hoped as the nearest paved road was at least 4 miles away. My Mom had a seriously stocked pantry and her brilliance in that manner kept us fed in the middle of several blizzards. My Dad was a small engine mechanic and I remember several winter days he’d not be driving in to work but instead taking a snow mobile or his old Jeep Willys. There’s still a story about cream puffs that circulates amongst our family, and those delicious treats would not have been possible for that blizzardy day without my mom’s well stocked pantry. So – using coupons and the grocery game I’m hoping to be able to build up an impressive pantry my self, and do it on a shoestring. ‘cause again – this month is snug on money.

If you are interested in checking out the website that gives those strategies and weekly reports let me know. I get free weeks of use for referrals and it’s worth spending the money on it for sign ups. It’s far better doing it this way than trying to figure out on your own what you’re going to buy with the weekly coupons. What I like is that the site follows trends and you don’t use all the coupons you have weekly – saving them for use when they alert you to a sale they have tracked as coming up within a 12 week period. Seriously, unless you are beyond anal retentive there is no way without this site that you’d know when the store you go to regularly has specials on stuff you may not need today but will tomorrow or the next month…

I also don’t mind getting the papers I’m getting so I can get those coupon inserts. I want to move up to the north Shore of Boston in the next few years (Probably after RC/RL is born IF we have him or her – yes we have initials for a third baby’s name) and I want to really get familiar with the region, so getting the Boston Globe along with the Hartford Courant works for me.

Spinning
I’ve been spinning that wood-rose merino roving I promised The Diva. It’s on my Road Bug (the model of the spinning wheel made by The Merlin Tree – now called “Road Bug” where they used to call it a “Hitch Hiker.” The difference between the two models? No cut out hand with a thumb up like the Douglas Adams novels, and about a pound less in weight. I really raised eyebrows when spinning during The Diva’s dance class. If I have to wait for an hour for her there (they ask parents to be there for the littles so they can help them go to the bathroom) then I can get a jump on her yarn for the her shrug and leg warmers. I have a ton of yarn in center pull balls set aside for plying, or skeining, but I just haven’t done it yet.

Grace passed on Saturday afternoon.
I have a funeral tomorrow late afternoon, and the day off for it, so I may get some spinning done during the morning and early afternoon. I also have to figure out what I’m dressing the kids in and if it’s even appropriate to take The Diva to the viewing – it’s open casket. I’m iffy. She is my Brother in Law’s mother, and I’m just not sure as while I love J and A, his mother was one of those people you have to watch your children around as they have no brain/mouth filter. A very sweet woman, her views were acceptable abut 30 – 40 years ago, but these days not so very PC… The morning currently includes shopping, putting up meals in a ready to cook manner for a week or two (including a casserole for J and A) and figuring out if the kids are going what I’m dressing them in. Happy Cinderella Princess dresses aren’t exactly the appropriate attire, nor is the favorite T shirt of “what happens at Grandma’s, stays at Grandma’s”

The Diva has been asking about Grace’s death. “Can she go get her nails done when she wants now? Is she able to drive again now that she’s in the Summerlands? Do they have golf carts in the Summerlands?” She pretty much has been taught that what we call the Summerlands, other people might call Heaven or Valhalla… and that while Grace’s body is stuck here and going to be cremated it’s only her body, that what made her Grace is now in the Summerlands and she’s very happy.

Calvin – blissfully unaware. He’s not been aware of so many passings in his short life unlike his sister. I wish I had his innocence.

Teh Sick
Dorian’s down with a nasty cold, Calvin and the Diva appear to have it as well and I have a killer sinus headache with sneezes that won’t stop today, and wish nothing more than to be able to crawl back in bed. That’s not happening however, and I have a meeting with someone shortly about messed up time reporting that I submitted. This messup? It was all based on the direction of my boss of course thank you…

TehMilitary
My brother is being called up to go to Afghanistan in April. Time to learn about the geography where he’ll be at and to start working on knitting black wool socks for him I think.

I have a handicapped husband who is Mr Mom to our almost 4 year old and 19month old. He’s amazing with the kids, and while he’ll never be the kind to be able to do yard work or go running with the dog, he’s a phenomenal daddy, and happy with his job being the care and nurture of our kidlets.

Me? I come from a long line of type A women who were the primary provider. It’s my paradigm, my reality from childhood on – Most of the women in my family fit this archetype and we’re good with it.

This seems to completely blow the mind of our neighbor woman. So I don’t have a perfectly manicured lawn and my porch needs a coat of paint. I’m OK with that as long as I have my awesome hubby and kiddos. Oh and a spinning wheel or two of course.

I’ve been getting ready for a yard sale at my Mother In Law’s, and have been putting things out on my porch so I can load them up in the van and take them over for the neighborhood wide sale on the 5th of October.

Today however most everything on the porch was freecycled.

A letter came from the town today, complaining about the mess on the porch. Eh? Last year this time she called Animal Control on us to say I was starving my dog. I wasn’t… that didn’t change her from making the report however. The ACO said our Brittany was a great example of her breed, and looked very healthy – all things her Vet had backed up as well. He verified that it was her who had complained, so I think it’s got to be her again complaining about the clutter on my porch.

Seriously however – how does a tent, bookshelves, a sealed 4 pack of Tiki Torches, a windowbox planter, an Excersaucer, a Walker and a play kitchen translate into garbage? I don’t get it and I’m not going to worry about it. The Tent and Tiki’s are already gone, the Saucer and Walker will go tomorrow or be taken to my MIL’s and the shelves and play kitchen will go to my MIL’s as well or be carted to the dump. Even in the rain that we’re supposed to be getting.

The neighbor woman is elderly. She’s lonely. She really freaks out over Mr. Mom who doesn’t do yard work and opts to be primary caregiver of our two kids while I work.

She has issues, I get it. But seriously – when I hang roving from the porch on hangers it is not trash, it is processed wool that I’ve dyed that I am going to spin.

The upside is of course I will have my porch ready to decorate for Halloween a little earlier this year than I did last year. As the skull with dancing flowers finally gave up the ghost, I’ll need to find something else to sit in the cauldron and frighten the unsuspecting with.

If I weren’t the nice kind I’d likely prank the old bat up the hill, but instead I’ll hang back and simply accept that she has already done everything to herself that she can to be this way and I’ll hope that somehow she learns to love herself and not be so cranky to the neighbors.