You breathe, Frosting mountains white, Exciting trees to verdant flame, Dancing sparrows on your wing, Swirling waves into long sighs. You beathe, All things live. Deng Ming~Dao
If you read my blog last winter you know that I struggled a lot, not only with the long dark, cold days but with the continuous pain that had encompassed my life. I will be straight up honest with you, it is the first time that I have ever felt depression tickle my soul, but truth be told the physical pain that I was living with pretty much was in control on those days. Thankfully I am not in that place today.
Normally I love winter. I love the crisp air that makes you suck your breath in and lets you know you are alive…but I have been a wee bit afraid of winter after last year's experience. I know, it sounds silly, but last year was not an easy one for sure. I have made sure that I have good projects to keep my mind busy, and I am very blessed to have a husband who understands. He understands that I feel a huge need right now to fill up my winter days with light, so there are lots of light in the rooms that we spend most of our evenings in.
Most nights when I am catching up with my friend across the world, this is my view. It didn't look like this a month ago, but moving my beautiful spinning wheel so that it is what I see when I sit here and type, along with the crystal Christmas tree that is lit up makes me smile. I think it is going to be a good Christmas and a brightly lit winter..and I have claimed my word for 2015 that I will share with you in a few weeks. 🙂
So to all my non doll friends, just turn away….fast while you still have a chance. Mwahhha!
To my Blythe friends however, this is my beautiful Tart and Tea. Of all of the Blythe stock girls I have owned, she by far has the most beautiful hair of all. So thick and straight with none of the greasy yuck that so many of the new stock girls have, and a face I would never dream of customizing. She is perfect just the way she is.
In the few years that I have had Blythe dolls, I have made some very nice friends along the way. Abi Monroe of Taylor Couture is one of them. She frequently makes dresses and accessories out of Angora and what Woolen Rabbit doesn't like that?
This particular dress had that little extra sparkle that I love….see that beautiful button, I just love it!
Most people would not think of me as a sparkly kind of girl, but yet I love glitter of every single kind and always have. I don't wear flashy jewlery, but there is always a little sparkle somewhere…ears, bracelet..it's always there. 🙂
A friend of mine once referred to my ADD brain as sparkling energy and I immediately embraced that sentiment even on the days when harnessing that sparkling energy has not always been easy. (like this week) Isn't it a wonderful, positive way to think about ADD? Yes, I think so too!
So there you have it….yes, another doll post because they do share a little corner in my world. 😉
A number of years ago, I made a trip up to Northern Maine to purchase an older 48 inch Macomber loom after selling a used 36 inch Schacht floor loom. Working on the big Macomber was like riding a Cadillac instead of a Chevy. Such a smooth machine. She now lives on the second floor of my studio and I don't get to use her the way I would like to because of limited space to open her up.
So….because I thought Macomber had gone out of business, I purchased a smaller 24 inch 8 harness folding Leclerc loom with a friction brake…and I hated it! I hated the friction brake and I just didn't enjoy any part of the process. I pretty much stopped weaving. I missed the dog and pawl break and the strength of my Macomber.
About 3 months ago however, I saw an add on Craig's list for an 8 harness 24 inch Macomber B loom (not a baby Mac) that looked almost new….what???? It had already sold, but I found out that Macomber was indeed still in business making looms…hooray!!!
I was fortunate enough to sell my Leclerc loom at Rhinebeck this year, which gave me the funds to order this sweet little Macomber loom 8 weeks ago. This time I traveled to Southern Maine to pick up this cheeky little lady who is a miniature version of her big sister who lives upstairs except this one has 2 additional harnesses for more pattern options.
Nowadays when I weave, I usually use an end feed shuttle as I find that I get much better selvage ends, but I won't lie, I love the little shuttle that came with this loom. You guys all know what a sucker I am for beautiful wood and how pretty is this little shuttle made of maple and walnut?. I just love it!
I have a few busy weeks ahead of me finishing up the sale dyeing and then jumping into the yarn club dyeing and mailing before Christmas, but I am hoping I can find a few extra hours to get this girl warped and ready. Today I am very a happy girl!
A deviation of a hair's breadth at the center Leads to an error of a hundred miles at the rim. When the effort is so slight, Why should you hesitate to set things right. Deng Ming~Dao
This morning on this very cold morning, I was pretty content to sit on the sofa under the blanket to sip on my coffee and catch up on what is happening in my world. Knowing that I had to make a trip down to Southern Maine later this morning, I was not in a huge hurry to get moving, so I sipped and read….and then I read a post that just upset me….a.lot!
I wrote a brief note about this auction a few weeks ago that was happening in Missouri. The person who sent these dogs to a digusting lifestock auction in Missouri was once a breeder who had the best interest of our breed in her heart, but somehow lost her way along her journey..greed?
This is what a puppy auction looks like…and you can see how involved the Amish people are involved. I wasn't going to post this because it is hard to watch, but these are the puppies that end up in pet stores and on pet finder websites.
The breeder who I have spoken about has dogs with pedigrees that hard working reputable breeders worked hard to establish and shared with her. I know that a lot of people do not understand what a reputable breeder does before breeding a litter. In our breed, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, it means having yearly heart exams by a board certified cardiologist, yearly eye exams by a board certified Opthamologist. Hips OVA'd and hopefully patellas as well. It's expensive. Then finding the right dog to breed to, that has had all of the same testing and has the strong qualities that will offset your girl's weaker qualities to improve the next generation, another big expense. ..and then the puppies, the ones that fade, the ones that are still born, the expensive c-secitions… the heart break. It's not about making money, because breeders who are doing it right, really are not making money, it's about going forward and bettering a breed of dogs that we love.
So back to this morning. When I read that this same breeder had an additonal 57 dogs that she had to place, because thankfully the USDA is shutting her down, her demand to keep them off the auction block is 150,000.00. I know this woman and reached out to her last week in kindness hoping that she would do the right thing with the rest of the dogs she still had, but in reading the FB posts this morning, I realized that was not the case in this situation. Old red haired gene Kim would normally jump into the conversation very heated, but older tired Kim decided to drag her body out for a walk in the frigid temperatures to mull it all over in her mind. When I walk, I prefer to walk alone. I feel badly when people ask me to walk with them and I decline because, I enjoy the quiet solitude to work things out in my mind as I walk and today was one of those days.
The short version…if we continue to spend huge amounts of money buying these dogs at auctions, it's only going to drive up the demand sadly. I personally feel we need to find a way to stop these dog auctions that the God fearing Amish farmers run. We need to find a way to shut down puppy mills and we need to find a way to educate people to understand that buying from a pet store or a back yard breeder (mill) perpetuates this cycle. We need to educate people to understand that when they do bring a pet into their home it is a commitment…a family member, not one to ship off to a shelter, unless life has changed so much that there is no other choice. As a breeder, I have always built into my contract that if a puppy buyer can not keep their dog, then they need to contact me first and I will either take them back or help them find another good home.
I'm sorry for this rant. Today in my life, I rarely find anything worth getting fired up about, but knowing that another 57 babies are being held ransom for money has made me sad and mad. This should not happen. We need to find a way to fix this. You will probably never see me post like this again, but today, I was upset enough to plow easily through a 4 mile walk…and I think it could have been 5 miles. There has to be a solution and I want to be part of the solution!
Well, I had every intention of posting yesterday, but sadly I was without power for a good part of the afternoon. We had a snow storm the night before and a plow driver managed to plow right into a telephone pole which knocked out our power.
I thought..hmm, well, I will make soap…nope, no stove. Well…I could sew, nope…sewing machines need power I wanted a cup of coffee as the temperature in the house dipped down to 52….nope. So no blog post yesterday, but I am here today. 🙂
What a week it has been. We are in the process of getting rid of Fairpoint because their service is just awful and slow. Do you really realize how many accounts and passwords you have out there? Even if you don't realize it, you have a ton! Every newsletter, every sales flyer from company's such as Fat Quarters that you love has your email address. I have been changing them over for days and still find that I am missing one or two of them. Crazy, isn't it
So..back to the Wednesday's work. Once the power came back on, I worked on a batch of new Snowflake Soap. I think that this particular scent is my most favorite, along with Coconut Grove. I love when my house is filled with the scents of newly made soap..Mmmm!
Tomorrow I am heading down to southern Maine to pick up something that I have been waiting a few months for. I will share it with you soon. I am VERY excited!
So, I'm sure you are wondering why I have this 4th of July table runner that I made a few years ago here on my blog on December 1st? Hmmm….. I blogged about it once here and probably somewhere else along the way. It's a fabulous little table runner. See how nicely it crinkled up once it was washed? Yes…it is lovely in July, but you see, my middle name is "Procrastination". Yes it is and it really is not a complementary middle name to have at all, but I completely own it. I have looked at this table runner over the months, mentioned that I probably should make an Autumn one, but did I…nope, no I didn't. I just kept looking at this cheerful summer table runner, even after it snowed and never batted an eye.
So today I finally shamed myself into putting something a little more seasonal on my island. See those lines…that is going to be my next challenge. Will I get it upstairs and iron it before the holidays….stay tuned. 😉
This has been a good brain stretch for me. I have always avoided making commitments such as this because I know my noisy brain and I usually fail, but this month, I only missed one day, because I took my commitment seriously and quieted that busy brain a little.
I also stayed on task with my weekly photo processing class and projects, which is so unlike me. I loved this class so much that it has given me the little push that I have needed to consider going back to school. Knowing that I could do these 2 things along with my walking commitment has given me the confidence to know I can do more.
No fear, I will not disappear again. I have enjoyed reconnecting with so many of you, so I will be blogging weekly. Not every day, but at least twice a week and it will be because I want to, not because I have to….no pressure makes it so much more enjoyable.
~ So with that I am off….Have a wonderful evening in your corner of the world ~
To celebrate Small Business Saturday we are having a Sale! ~ 15% off your entire order and we are extending it through Sunday. (12 am Saturday through Sunday 11:30 EST) ~ discount is taken off at checkout.
Today was a nearly perfect day for walking outside. The weather while brisk, was not frigid and there was a good wind blowing, but not so hard that it made the walk uncomfortable….and the sun was shinning brightly.
When I was a little girl, I used to love to walk to the library and I would always smile and say hello to anyone that I passed. Of course in today's society children just can't do that safely any longer which is a bit sad. Now when I am walking if I make eye contact with someone driving, I always smile or if I pass someone, I do say hello and smile. It makes the walk a little more enjoyable.
Today however, some asshat almost purposely ran me off the road….grrr! The one area of my walk that had not been plowed and may not be plowed again all winter is the sidewalk over the Swift River bridge. I am always mindful when walking on areas with no sidewalk to walk as close to the edge of the grass, as not to be a nuisance or distraction for drivers, so that was not the case today with this man. He looked right at me in his truck and aimed for me…I had to jump into the snowbank to avoid being hit. I wish I had enough time to get his plate number because I would have called him on it with the police. Thankfully he is the exception to most drivers out there.
When I am walking, even though I have music blasting in my ears, it is quiet time for me. Time to contemplate life, think of things that need to get done and solve world problems if I have the time..ha! No, seriously though, I enjoy the solitude to let my mind quietly wander.
When I am walking, I also smile at the various points along the way that became my goal points. The one mile mark, the 2.5 mile mark and finally the 3.5 mile walk and today with all things being nearly perfect…I hit the 4 mile point and I did it in an hour. A true personal record for me. Will I be able to do it again, who knows, but I did it today and if felt victorious from where I was last year. Sometimes life is just good. 🙂
Wow…what a day it has been!! We woke up this morning to a solid 14 inches of snow this morning and it was so beautiful. Unfortunately it caused massive power outages around our state.
Thankfully we did not lose our power, but everyone who attended dinner today other than my parents had lost power, so they were thankful to have a warm house to celebrate this Thanksgiving….and what a full house it was. It was such a treat to have all of my children, their spouses and all of the grandkids here today!
It was a challenge fitting everyone in and still being able to move, but Ken is really good at this and thankfully we were able to have a wonderful time all together at kind of the same table.
As we have some unexpected company staying here tonight to keep warm, I am scurrying to get this posted before the midnight hour so that it counts for today. It's nice to have some of my kids and their kids under my roof today.
I hope that you all had a peaceful and blessed Thanksgiving!
The Woolen Rabbit 