Life’s been busy since we returned from Seguin. We drove home during changing fall colors, which are now reaching their peak. And we had sunny, seasonal days to enjoy them.
A cloud settled over Cobble Hill. 
Canoeing at Great Camp Santononi in Newcomb. 
Wagon ride to Camp Santononi. 
Sunrise over the mountains on the day my new grandson was born.
A new life! 
I love conjoined carrots.
I love my new grandson even more. 
Home sweet home. Back to work work and deferred projects.
I am getting ready to build an outdoor clay earth oven to bake pizza and bread. Tim collected clay, I collected river rocks and we both contributed empty wine bottles – that was hard work.
I am building a base and will use the wine bottles as part of an insulating layer. The ideas and plans are from a book, Earth Ovens by Kiko Denzer.
Today I evened out the holes I dug, cut the fence posts, leveled them, and ripped, cut, and attached joists. Gotta love a table saw.
Opps don’t look too closely. I temporarily removed a safety dohiggy to cut the posts. I think I have enough rocks but may need a few more wine bottles. Better get to work.
It’s a little wonky but level in all directions.
Yesterday I made a simple card weaving loom with the table saw. I intend to try it out at a workshop in Vermont this weekend.
And earlier this month, I smoked a beef brisket on my Weber grill as described on the Cooks Illustrated website. I soaked it in brine, rubbed it with salt and pepper and slow cooked it on the grill for 5 hours. It was amazing. I’ve tried a couple of pizzas on the grill mostly to practice sliding it off the wooden peel for the new oven.
This week my farm share included a roast beef, pork roast and spare ribs. Fire up the grill!
I hit my tipping point. Last year I bought a beautiful fleece at the Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival. Long grey locks with lots of crimp and clean with some lanolin.
Then a few weeks ago, a fellow spinner gifted me this beautiful, clean fleece, a 4th place Romney. Long locks, beautiful color and did I already say, clean.
Finally, the other day we received a box from Terhune Orchards. I thought it might be sweet, NJ peaches. Imagine my surprise when I opened it and found 10 pounds of raw fleece.
That was it. I had to clean these fleeces. I bought a plastic bucket and tub and a bottle of Power Scour. Yesterday was sunny with a light breeze so I broke up the day by processing two of them. The third is so clean I plan to comb it lightly and spin in the greece.
Here’s my production line.
I soaked them in hot water with the power scour, rinsed them, put them in pillowcases and spun them in the washer, then hung them from the clothes line in little hammocks made from sheets. It was too breezy to spread them on the ground.
After a day and a half indoors, it’s finally sunny and calm enough to let them finish drying on the front porch.
My fingers twitch at the thought of all the wonderful spinning and knitting I have in my future.
I have a pet peeve with floss sticks.
I believe in flossing, but in the privacy of your own home, preferably in the bathroom with the door closed. Why do these turn up on the street in some of the most beautiful places in the world. The first time I saw one was on the street in the island country, Dominica. Now they follow me whereever I run. I see one almost daily. Yesterday at least I found a beautiful turkey feather too.
I meant to post about all graffiti I saw in southern France. But I didn’t. Here’s what I saw in Albany, NY this weekend instead.
I too believe you should quit what you don’t love.
Here is an impressive building in Albany, part of SUNY.
And some great sky at my office on Lake Champlain.
I found these right in my backyard. The best crop I have ever seen. I didn’t even have to venture into the brambles. The blackberries became a delicious pie and french toast topper.
And I’m still happily weaving.
Or thinking about weaving. Some time at home has let me do some loom work. I finished a pair of cotton chenille bath sheets that seemed to take forever. I had to order more yarn for the warp so it languished on the loom. But it was well worth the wait. They’re soft, absorbant and huge. I think I’ll need more.
Now I’ve got placemats in process. I’ve made several sets for friends. I noticed that I always admire them when I see them again, so now it’s time for my own set.
They are warped back to front and I made this nifty raddle and set it up in an ingenious way I learned at Red Stone Glen.
Our outdoor shower mat became loose so I wove the boards together in a plain weave.
This works much better except I am on my guard these days because there is a new milk snake near the shower! And bear scat near the garden! I tell you, it’s a jungle out there.
I moved the wildlife camera but have only picked up deer munching AROUND the garden, not in it. I spray liquid fence (cayenne, sulphur) around the perimeter and it works.
My last strawberry rhubarb pie had a 2 x 2 twill crust and was delicious.
I needed some supports for my garden and sort of wove a twig tuteur. I decided two would dominate the raised bed so one sits between the tomato plants.
Summer has arrived, and with it, we have frequent afternoon thunderstorms – and dramtic skies.
We need the rain for the flowers.
Then I can spend more time weaving instead of watering the flowers.
Grey clouds with shafts of sunlight create beautiful colors. Storms don’t seem too bad from the comfort of my couch.
Here’s a friend’s barn on Sunday. The colors were
very dramatic.
Tonight, pink clouds formed over the mountains, followed by lightning and gravel sized hail.
Who needs TV with all this drama outside.
I drove an hour to meet Tim after 7 hours of sailing. Lovely day – not. 20+ knot winds and 3-4 foot seas and drizzle. After the wind subsided he took a nap and left me to motor the upper portion of Lake Champlain, around Isle la Mott to Rouses Point and the border.
After an hour in Customs, we learned our boat’s Blue Book value is pretty low and for $380 Canadian, we imported it to Canada. There’s a slim, probably none, chance we’ll get this back when we return the boat to the States.
Few small problems at the moment. We can’t find our Topclimber, which Tim uses to go up the mast. Not much of a problem now since the mast is lying on the deck. More importantly, our depth finder is not working. So last night we poked around with a lead line, found a decent spot and dropped anchor. Then Tim let out plenty more line because wind picked up overnight, as predicted, and we rocked and rolled for at least 4 hours.
We must still be in the United States though because I still have internet. But I can see the Canadian Customs house from my cockpit.
Tying up and fixing things before another adventure. Tim left yesterday to begin the first leg of a multiyear journey – a big loop, north out of Lake Champlain, via the Richelieu River and canals; east on the St. Lawrence seaway, hopefully to the Sanguenay River/fiord this year. Then further east along the St Lawrence out to The Atlantic, Nova Scotia, Maine, Long Island Sound, the Hudson River and back to Lake Champlain.
He will travel for a month this year and I’ll be along for parts of the ride – to help with the canal locks and will travel to and fro via Canadian public transportation and the bu-uh-uh-uh-uhuhuhuh- us.
We’ve (Tim more than me) have been running around like chickens without our heads getting everything in order. Provisioning, customs, mast down, radar installed, dodger measurements, lost items, IT support.
I had to repair some knitting before I was ready and plan my crochet project for the next several days.
It’s suddenly summer. We went from cool days with fog in the hollers
To this
Lucky for me that the weather turned nice because I spent a few days in Pennsylvania camping, while I attended weaving classes with Sara Bixley and Tom Knisely at Red Stone Glen Fiber Arts Center. It was awesome. I learned so much in an Inkle Weaving and Chain Warping Class and really felt part of a weaving family.
Here are the two inkle bands I sampled. I designed the purple one from scratch. The pink one includes a twig from my campsite.
After full days of weaving, I returned to my campsite, where I swam and walked in 90 degree temperature. I could get used to car camping. I thought I packed to excess until my neighbors arrived with tablecloths, tarps and various coolers. Where would you rather be?
Campsite 120
Or campsite 119? I had espresso, popcorn and thought I was living large.
I shipped this while I was there for a very special girl’s birthday.
Now all my free time will be spent sailing and sewing a canvas “dodger” for our boat.
Tim has been focusing on the flowers that seem to grow on air from the old walls, bromiliads?
I’m impressed with the variety of graffiti.
Then I hit a communication wall. I needed a haircut. I went to the salon with Tim and his friend, Patrick, who is fluent in french. I had to wait until Friday so they made it clear it needed to be long enough for a ponytail.
I even had this phrase on my phone, “J’aimerais bien garder les longueurs afin de pouvoir les mettre dans le queue de cheval si vous plait.” You can translate it but it politely asks to keep it long enough for a pony tail. Day of the haircut I felt like an animal at the vet. Until an english song came on the radio, “I’m too drunk to f••k”. Good thing she and her customers didn’t speak english! Here’s the song.
Island and North Country Life 