Happy Fourth of July!

In a very un-patriotic manner I am not attending any fireworks shows tonight, I didn’t host a huge back yard party and in fact, I went yarn shopping. I did attend the neighborhood parade, which was, once again, a success. Mostly because it is geared towards the kids in the neighborhood who get to walk, ride bikes or be pulled in wagons by their parents. I will probably look out the window tonight though when the neighbors put on a street show for the kiddies. Like we use to do. Four families, about 10 kids and hundreds of thousands of fireworks. In the street, every year we were raided by the cops. It was a blast!

I also met the new neighbors quite by accident. TinkerDaughter and I were following the parade because TinkerSon always drives the tractor (1957 International Harvester H Series) in the parade. The family in front of us said to each other, where are we going? I responded, to the park! They said we didn’t know, we just moved in. Oh! You’re my new neighbors. (I saw them moving in on Saturday). So then we introduced ourselves and TinkerSon and Mr. Tinkerpro came back up the street and we just blocked traffic and chattted. Because that is what a neighborhood is all about. You meet new people and block traffic on a lazy holiday.

Jack and Stanley are not enjoying the 4th of July.

Jack is annoyed because he can’t go out tonight.

Stanley just doesn’t like the noise

Tour de Fleece - Day 1

Spun remainder of green/teal Merino Distributed by Carolina Homespun that I’m sure I got at a fiber fair, but I can’t find the tag, and I don't remember which one, but most likely MDS&W or SAFF. Maybe 2-3 ounces, but I’ll weigh it after it comes on the nitty noddy.

Combined some seconds with some raw wool I got from Marie. The raw wool I washed and carded myself. Remains to be seen if there will be enough to get a chunky sweater out of it. And I’m not really happy with how it came off the drum carder, but will spin it up and then decide next course of action.

100% Merino (Rose Quartz) also distributed by Carolina Homespun, 4 oz Got almost half spun lace weight, will finish it tomorrow am and ply it.

Wood Pile

Wood Pile

No Wood Pile









Makes for a very happy Tinkerpro. And a huge shout out of thanks to the guy who came and took it all, pick-up truck load by load. It took him 6 days, and over the weekend TinkerSon and a few of his friends "played" in the wood pile and split the bigger pieces so Mr. Nice Man could get the last of it.

Of course, now thepoor little tree Mr. Tinkerpro and I have fought over for years needs to be removed because it didn't quite survive the removal of the big oak, and sun shock. And I now have a yard full of sawdust instead of gress, but it is better than the moss I had instead of grass.

I think when it is all said and done, and the yard is re-planted a gazebo will look just lovely out there.

Ten on Tuesday - Fourth of July!

Hmm, Carole's challenge, your ten favorite things about 4th of July.

1. My friend Anne's birthday. She was 8 before she realized that not everyone got fireworks on their birthday.

2. Cooking out. Except I like doing that all the time, and with a gas grill that is connected to my gas line in the house, I can grill in the snow if I so choose. And I did when we lost power this winter and I needed warm food & drinks. Was ever so glad I had kept the camping perculator

3. Fireworks. When the kids were little, three other neighbors showed up in our yard a dark with their fireworks too. It took hours to get them all done, and the last 5 years or so, it wasn't the Fourth of July if the police didn't raid our display. It was rather sad actually. But we had a blast anyway. But we knew we were a success!

4. The neighborhood parade. Full of kids, bikes, fire trucks, bands, and babies. To this day (30 years later) I hop the back fence, cut through the neighbor's yard and sit and watch the parade go by.

5. The concert on the Mall. I haven't been back since that stupid James Watts declared the Beach Boys weren't "patriotic" enough and couldn't participate in the Capitol Concert anymore. What a ya-hoo he was. It was great to go into DC in the afternoon, party and then watch the huge firework display on the Mall. TV isn't quite the same.

6. Potato and Macaroni salad. Staples of any picnic or festivity.

7. A day off to do nothing I don't want to do.

8. I get to wear my red white & blue star earrings, they scream 4th of July, and aren't really appropriate most days. But for a week I wear them!

9. The Flag. Usually some real estate company or some one will put flags at most people's driveways in the neighborhood. The streets are so fun to go down.

10. Our soldiers. TinkerBoy being my current favorite.

Wildlife

Saturday morning I scheduled all sorts of "me" time. Well, just a massae and a manicure, but TinkerSon was working and MrTinkerpro was suppose to go out of town for the day. My first stop of the morning was with Kathy, a most magnificent massage therapist. I've known her as a friend before she ever finished training, and was one of a group of five who encouraged her, once she got her license to give up cleaning houses and open her massage office. Full time. Just go for it! It took her awhile to let go of the house cleaning business. I understood. She had been cleaning houses for over 25 years, it was comfortable, and steady income. Massage therapy was a new venture and untested waters. Well, less than 10 years later, she has two offices, more clients than she can manage and a website.

While she was torturing me and working out sore muscles I didn't know were sore, we caught up on the kids and families and life. I asked her about fox in her neighborhood. She lives about 5 miles from me. Yep, she said they are everywhere. And they steal news papers. Huh? She said that there has been a problem in the neighborhood, and they though the delivery guy just wasn't doing his job until they kept seeing fox running down the street with the entire plastic bag with a paper in it.

So of course Sunday morning, I go outside rather late for me, 7:30 am to get my paper and what do I see? Walking up the sidewalk is a fox. With a paper in it's mouth. After making sure it wasn't MY paper, I just stood there with my hands on my hips staring it down. It stopped and stared back. So I said good morning. And then with some authority, Drop it. After all, that usually works with dogs.

Nope. No such luck so some poor neighbor was without their sunday morning paper. Evil Tinkerpro hoped it was the neighbor down the street she isn't too fond of.

Pretty soon the fox will be running for office in the county since they are catching up on their reading. They certainly can't do any worse than the yo yos that are currently running the government.

Progress

Two weeks ago, we had a tree taken down in the back yard. A big tree. We didn't have them haul the wood away because, well it was expensive and we were already paying a boatload to have it cut.

The picture doesn't do the pile quite justice. It starts about 1 foot away from the garage, and goes across the yard about 20 feet. In fact, when I think about it, it is a 20x20 pile of logs and sticks, that is piled about 2-3 feet high.

I advertised on craigslist free wood, because I wasn't paying to take it away. One guy has been working on this pile for the last three evenings, about two loads a day. He should be done tomorrow.

Time

For some reason, there just doesn't seem to be enough of it anymore. Or to be more accurate I'm not maximizing my time to the best of my ability.

Crazy Aunt Purl wrote about how people stuck in traffic couldn't wait 3 - 5 minutes to get past an accident and instead were involved in their own accident, which does truly delay you more. Traffic lights are the same way. While I get annoyed as the next person when I've pissed off the red light fairy and she makes me stop at EVERY STINKIN LIGHT between where I am and where I want to be, I remind myself that a red light is no more than 2 minutes. It's true. I've timmed it. Several times, different lights. So then I take a deep breath and remind myself two minutes. That isn't so bad.

Carole's Ten for Tuesday is books you would recommend to your friends. I don't have any. I haven't been reading lately and that is a shame because I love to read. I use to empty shelves at the library and read. I read while riding the bus to work, I read at lunch, on the bus home, and I would stay up half the night reading. When I was single, by Sunday afternoon my back and legs would ache. I'm so slow that it took me 6 months to realize that laying on the couch and reading all weekend was a great way to rest my mind, but my body was rebelling and I needed to get my fat ass off the sofa and move.

I keep counting down the days until July 1st. Work is crazy, the staff is crazy and we need to get through the year-end stuff. July first marks the new fiscal year, a fresh start. Now that I know what needs to be done at year-end next year I will truly do things differently. In the meantime I'm trying not to wish my days away. I realized that it is almost July. Today is the first day of summer. I don't want to have to think about fall and winter quite yet.

There things I want to accomplish this summer and I need it to last.

So, I'm slowing down, smelling the coffee (yummy) and not going to stress anymore. Stress is not something I usually do anyway. The work will be there tomorrow. The world won't tilt off it's axis. I won't get fired if something gets delayed. And the mafia isn't going to come after me if accounting doesn't get the invoice processed before next Monday.

Last week I walked around the lake on campus since I haven't been down there for awhile. The baby turtles were lined up on logs near the shore. So cute. Then I saw the biggest goldfish I'd ever seen. I swear it was a foot long.

Note to self: Go sit by the lake for 10 minutes every day for the next two weeks, enjoy the scenery.