Sable Stasher

ESCAPE TO A HOUSE ON A ROCK!

Or, the perfect place to get over the Knitting Blahhs!

 

I have been letting my blogging go to pot these last 4 months. I rarely share a lot of personal stuff on my blog. The last few months everything that could go wrong, did!  A long disagreement with Typepad about the wrong charges and missing photos that dated back 5 years. They repaired all that, finally. The gadgets and so-called improvements on Typepad are a hinderance to me, a novice electronic person. A sick spell for both Vader, (my buddy), and me; using a broken computer with no delete key and the perchance to print letters wherever it pleases; still struggling with it. No repair shop for laptops here. I did try. $150.00 later, the laptop was really screwed up.  I am waiting for the new version of Windows to come out, then I will buy a new computer. My expensive little camera doesn't want to work either. Electronic gadgets give me a headache. I think I prefer a crank handled telephone, a quill, ink pot and parchment.

 

Worst of all, the first and only case of knitting blahs in 30 years!  Who me?  Yep.  Now this is serious since I have 3 lifetimes of yarn stashed in my cottage. 

 

I suppose much of my discontent was due to my boss "retiring" me for her own job security and a  a full time job rather than part time.  I didn't know what to do about that, so all and all, I buried my head under a blanket, slept and ate a lot and felt pretty worthless.  She said I was too old to do the work she needed and I needed to retire. Problem was I couldn't get on my knees to pick up a big box of old house plans and get up again. She may have been right, who knows?

 

 Speaking of age:

 

Every year of my life when my Dad was still on earth, I would get a phone call around midnight on or near my birthday. Dad would call and tell me the same story of how he waited from 8 AM in the morning in his baseball uniform and cleats until sometime around midnight for me to arrive. He missed his ball game. He played pro and semi-pro baseball. Anyway, I miss that call every year. Yep, I recently had a birthday. It was a tough one. I am done complaining. 

 

I am on the road back, I am glad to say that I am knitting again. I finished my Blue Venusian cardigan and it looks swell on. Covers the porches back and front and hangs great.  Also age appropriate from 8 to 80+.  I also knitted a cowl with Knit Picks pattern and their fingering yarn called Wicked Witch - very cute and cozy for winter weather.  Cape Cod about 1/3 done.  The yokes, gussets, sleeves to finish. Chased Silveris all knitted, still awaiting sewing, and a neck scarf. 

 

The pictures and story below are from a friend.  I hope you enjoy them.

 

;              

 

Clingstone had been built by a distant cousin, J.S.  Lovering Wharton.  Mr.  Wharton worked with an artist, William Trost Richards, to create a house of picture windows with 23 rooms on three stories radiating off a vast central hall.

 

Total construction, which was completed in 1905, was  $36,982.99 

 

 

An early sketch of the house.  Mr.  Wood is as proud as any parent of his house,

and keeps a fat scrapbook of photographs and newspaper clippings that document

its best moments.  Many of the historic photos he has were provided by the company that insured the house for its original owners.

 

The house is maintained by an ingenious method: "The Clingstone Work Weekend".  Held every year around Memorial Day, it brings 70 or so friends and Clingstone lovers

together to tackle jobs like washing all 65 of the windows.  Anne Tait, who is married to Mr. Wood's son Dan, refinished the kitchen floor on one of her first work weekends.

 

 

The dining room table seats 14.  Refinishing the chairs is a task on the list for a future work weekend.

 

Sign by the ladder that leads to the roof reads: No entry after three drinks

or 86 years of age.  "It used to say 80 but we had a guy on a work weekend who was 84, so I changed it," said Mr.  Wood, ever the realist. 

 

 

 

It would have been a shame to curtail the activities of a willing volunteer

 

A Perfect Place for all Knitter's with cases of the Knitting Blahs!

stay tuned>

Or, What I found on eBay today!      

These are Great. Your little Piggie can

be a Tiger.

It is cotton.This outfit would be perfect for pictures.

But sydneybear (click on link to go to the web page)also warns one should never leave a piggy alone while in costume. Because, come on, once that thing gets hold of a mirror, there's no turning back.

More guinea pig coats, just for fun:

 

I got a giggle or two out of these.  They aren't knitted but they could be.  Make them more comfortable for the little fellows. Of course these little guys are Guinea Pigs.  All kids love these calm, non-offensive pets.  My cousin had several pens full of them he played with.  In general, I dislike dressing pets up in doll clothes and funny hats.  However, I have dressed Vader up to try on my knitting.  He looked about as happy as these little cuddlers.  I finally got my Blog sorted out with Typepad.  They gave me a credit for over charging me and 6 months free use of the blog, plus today, they found all my pictures.  I have been filling the blog with pictures for nearly 6 years - and when they changed formats, they lost my pictures.  This is a test post to practice using all these new tools.  I find this quite cumbersome right now and plan to read all the old typepad materials one day.

I have been on a quest, searching for Knitting Mojo for nearly 4 months.  I just started to knit again after discovering Duxbury was too large for the recipient.  Couple that with a sick spell and I just hadn't the energy to do anything.  I did finish the Blue Venezia cardigan and it fits well and is attractive on.  I hope to have some pictures.  Currently working on Cape Cod.  It is looking pretty good.  Pictures of knitting next post.

Stay tuned for the further adventures in knitting -

 

  

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Or, Almost CHICKEN FEATHERS. And on St. Paddy's Day too!

And that it was too!

CHICKEN FEATHERS AGAIN! How the hell do I manage it?

The Story:

The long awaited Blue Faced Leicester, hand painted ARAN, I ordered from the Point in New York, turned out to be a totally different color than I expected.  I am sure that they were surprised too. I was expecting a much darker yarn.  MUCH DARKER.  I was going to knit the Yoga Wrap from Vogue's last issue.  It took so long to get here, I did mine in Noro. The entire process is in the previous post.

Knocked my socks off when I opened the box!  Totally shocked.  I did write to them, (not asking them to take the yarn back because it was a special order), but telling them how disappointed I was. I suggested a swap for a different, darker color. I didn't have a helluva lot of hope, but in my secret heart, I hoped they would offer to exchange it for a darker color or and the very least, give me a store credit. Comes under the heading of customer satisfaction, or some similar non-existent customer service these days.

I haven't heard a word from them. I don't expect to.  What do they care about someone that lives across the country in a tiny Oregon town?  I guess the yarn is is mine unless one of you want to buy it?

I want to make this clear. This is all MY FAULT!  I should have asked to see an actual swatch. I did ask their advice as to darkest yarn. They didn't know either. But they didn't tell me that. They are starting an Internet selling business. HINT! Be sure and get swatches if you can't actually see the yarn in person and haven't seen the yarn before.

Anyway, I picked from the swatches on Fleece Artist's web site. I may be red headed and Irish, like Maureen O'Hara, but I don't wear green as well as she does. 

This is 1,600 yards of hand painted yarn by Fleece Artist. The color is Rainforest. It was $123.00 excluding shipping.  Anyone falls in love with it? 

FLASH: BFL SOLD TO KRIS! It is lovely, soft and quite a wonderful fiber.  A true Aran yarn. 

The pictures I have taken are accurate. (monitor differences might make a difference.  This is a laptop)  I hope that all can see the difference between the actual yarn and the swatch I chose from. 

             

Wahhhh!

          

AND ALL THAT JAZZ!

Or, How I Saw the ORIGINATOR!

Thursday night, July 7,  we went to Marshfield Auditorium, to use FREE tickets Dennis received in reciprocation for buying an ad to help sponsor this benefit for the Coos Bay Firefighters Association.  Coos Bay lost 3 of their firefighters in 2003.  This will help toward a lasting  MEMORIAL to these fine men who gave their lives for this community.

We had forgotten all about it until Thursday. ,  I was tired from work and playing poker with the ''GIRLS" Wednesday night, (but that's another story).

The ticket said, "Bo Diddley, the Originator"  That didn't ring any bells for me. I didn't remember who Bo Diddley was and perhaps, I just never knew.

Since most of my life has been spent in the 'Little Bay Area' - population 12,000, and before that growing up in a town of 150 people. I have lived my life in the slow lane - with few opportunities to 'get a little culture.' 

Of course, I did attend 2 colleges in the state of Oregon, and I did see plenty.   However, I don't think you could call it culture - well maybe? 

Worked most of my life in Social Services, looking at this marvelous North Bend Bridge  every day, and never consciously remembered the name of Bo Diddely.

Surprisingly, I actually graduated with degrees in Criminal Justice/Psychology, Human Services/Education.   A liberal education second to none except the UC Berkley. The U of O is a fair state college.  Somehow, I still managed to miss out seeing the  Originator.  I feel that I am a butterfly brain at best!  It's like, not knowing about Elvis!                 Dahhh!

Like most of the happenings in my life, it was a total surprise to discover that Bo Diddley is a legend.  Inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame in 1987 because he practically invented Jazz single handed.  The revolutionary "Bo Diddley" beat, influenced all the great Jazz musicians for the last 50 years!

Bo 50 years ago

But then, most of you know all about him - and of course, I have been hearing his music all these years and didn't realize his name - but when I hear ,"I'm a Man" from now on, I will be able to see the MAN behind the words..

Bo is 77 years old and going strong folks...he is wonderful.  It was great fun to see people of 60+ get down and boogie to the beat of what was once termed,  "Jungle Music."

What more can I say but BO DIDDLEY reigns and may he reign for many more years! 

What puzzles me is how in the world did he find Coos Bay, Oregon?

Knitting Content:  I CO Heirloom Knitting's Melanie Shawl in Deep Turquoise today, July 10, 2005.