Unsure

I am really unsure of how this happened. The taxi was not hit by another car. There was no ding on the car. No dent in the fender. 

But there you have it. 

I guess this is what happens when you want to go one way, but you fender says No!

Sunrises Softly

For 2 more days I will enjoy the sun. 2 more days will bring the most light for the year. 2 more days of hope. 

Then the darkness will return. Creeping slowly at first, then faster and faster - aided by the clouds and rains of fall. 

But today I still have 2 more days of light and I plan to enjoy them. Tonight when I get home, I'm taking our pup for a nice walk. 

I love the long days of summer. Even though they're so short!

Skiffing out early

So I just figured out how to put a picture in the middle of the text on the iPhone version of this blogger software - very exciting, but not the main topic. 

The main topic - I got to get out of work early and travel on the Hudson train. Lovely views of the river and man memories of good times with friends on the boat. 

It's been a few years since we've been out on the water, but every time I see a sail out on the river, I get that itch to head out. 

There's really not much better than taking the day and just enjoying the currents, fishing a bit and then navigating back to shore. Of course we have our tales of getting stuck with only the emergency oars to bring us home, being swamped by a tanker, and how I only seem to ever catch starfish, but still I feel calmer just thinking about being on the water. 

It's my personal zen moment. 

Cross in the Woods

My baby sister works at a place called Cross in the Woods. Its a national shrine and she's the music director there. It's a place of quiet reflection and beauty. Mostly filled with a lot of silence. 

Needless to say, my cross in the woods is neither silent nor reflective. It's filled with the blaring horn of the train, flashing lights, clanking metal wheels, steel rails and blacktop. 

This morning when I saw the crossing, however, it seemed more of a guardian of safety rather than a harbinger of noise.  And something linked the 2 crosses together. 

I wonder if the MTA is looking for a music director?

What Dreams May Come

So the movie is really sad, but the saturated colors are fantastic. That's what I thought of when I saw my historic Siberian irises in full bloom.

They're actually a rich purple when you see them in person, but for some odd reason they always photograph this beautiful blue.

Anyway you look at them, they are gorgeous! Yet fleeting. They'll be gone by the end of the week.

Potting Up

Finally, finally, finally my DH and I had the whole afternoon to dedicate to our gardens.

Naturally it rained cats and dogs! But that didn't stop us. We set up a little workspace on the front porch and potted up a few hundred hostas, lilies, hemerocallis and peonies. We knew they would have preferred to be planted, but the torrential downpour was not going to let that happen.

It was just nice to spend time at home, our pup at our feet, and play with plants.

Yarn Bomb!

Sometimes what starts out as the most innocent of things turns into something quite bizarre.

Case in point. All I wanted was to hang out with some other folks and get some knitting and spinning done. Now there are a lot of groups in my area who knit and spin on a weekly or monthly basis, but none of those groups meet at night or on the weekend and also none are less than 1/2 hour drive from our bucolic manor.

Now I know that some of the folks who go to those meet-ups live in my area, so we got together and started our own knit and spin. That's all it was supposed to be. But by now you may have realized how things turn out in my life - even if I haven't!

The first one was nice, everyone brought their spindles and projects and a good time was had by all. I brought my latest pair of socks and some lovely Shetland pink lemonade roving I am spinning up for a scarf (shawl, if you're a knitting person).

Anywho, when they saw my sock technique, they asked me to give a lecture the next month. Two at a time toe up magic loop socks. ( that's where you knit 2 socks on one circular needle from the toe going up to the cuff.) so of course I said okay. I'm all about sharing the knowledge. So I gave the lecture last month.

Well, we got into a conversation about public yarn sculptures, or "yarn bombings". More of a graffiti things where you're supposed to transform an everyday object using yarn - like wrapping a bike in yards of fiber so it looks like a pair of 1970s socks, or knitting a giant hat for a bus shelter.

So long story short, we decided to do a yarn bomb at town hall. And I would research it and do a workshop for next month. So I did.

I went on the web and found out all about yarn bombings. Looked up ways to make the sculptures. Found the most durable fibers. Figured out how to attach the yarn to fixed objects without ruining them. The whole nine yards.

Then I put together a presentation, created and printed up workbook and drew up a few different plans for ones we could do quickly in our little group. Then finally, I crocheted some structural pieces to use in any one of the projects, figuring out a pattern and doing the math and geometry that needs to be done when you are covering a 3D object in yarn.

You know, in my free time - because I have so much of it!

So I sent out the reminders for the knit and spin and got about 15 confirmed RSVPs.

This past Saturday we had our knit and spin, I was so prepared and excited to give my little workshop. I showed up early, got the. space all set up, then sat down and got some knitting done while I waited for folks to show up. After all, they rsvp'd.

So no one showed up. Not only that, but they didn't even email to say they weren't showing up.

Nice, right?

Initially I was pretty miffed. I spent a lot of time putting together this information and spent money getting the materials printed, and that was apparently a total waste. And I didn't even want to do the thing in the first place. I just wanted to knit and spin close to home one weekend a month.

But then I got over it. After all, no use crying over spilt milk, right?

So I made a little flower yarn bomb and put it on one of the driveway signs in front of town hall. It was a lot of fun!

So far it's stood up pretty well to the rain. And not too bad for my first attempt at public fiber sculpture if I do say so myself!

Next month I think I'll try my hand at dyeing. Just a small workshop - nothing too complex.

How hard can it be?