Nice to wake up to this morning.  On land, I don’t care if the morning sky is violet, pink or bright red!  We’ve had some snow and have been cranking the wood burning stove to keep toasty.  I chopped a pile of wood and it’s still fun.  Very satisfying when the log splits on the first try and both pieces go flying.  I’m going to spin a positive light here so all the kids will be happy to chop wood when they arrive.

First Warped Loom

I followed Ashford’s instructions that came with the wheel and found it very easy to warp the loom by myself.  I was amazed how fast the work progressed and already have a sampler scarf.  More fiber fun.  Today I’m going to a quilting meeting to get started on my new bedspread.

We’ve had our first snowfall!   I got to use the new snow blower but it was really for my own benefit because early in the morning a neighbor came by with a truck to pack down the driveway and after I used the snow blower on the whole driveway (with a path to the “hottub”) another neighbor came by with a huge tractor and plowed the driveway clear.  I’m working on my refined technique. If you reverse over an area a second time, it packs it down better.

We get a local newspaper delivered and I saw this classified in the Lost and Found this A.M., “Found: framed picture in my car.  If lost, please call to describe and claim it.”   Sets the mind to wondering.  Does this person shuttle so many people around that they can’t call up and say, “Hey did you lose a pic in my car?”  Or a darker side of me thinks perhaps the person wants to hear the verbal description of the picture.  Hmmm.  OK so too much time on my hands.

Tim is out trying out couches.  We are sitting ducks in furniture stores once we start lying on and testing out couches.  We become a captive audience and I grow weary.   So since Tim found such a great house, he has authority to buy a couch too.  The excavator thinks we may have missed our window to set up the real hot tub where we want it so we may be soaking in the driveway this winter.  Hear those banjos?

Packed, snowblown and plowed

Looking North

I am still sorting through my pictures from New Zealand.  The landscape was so amazing, even though I never saw a rainbow, that Chelsea and I took over 400 pictures.  She took the good ones.  So here are a few fiber shots.  We were in the land where sheep outnumber humans by about 10:1 and hobbits abound.  I deferred taking pictures of the sheep until the last couple of days.  Here is an example of what a flock of sheep does when you get out of the car and say, “Yo, sheep.”

We traveled south from Christchurch to Ashburton where I could visit the home of Ashford spinning wheels and looms.  I saw the biggest spinning wheel and bought a loom which got home about the same time as me.  I can hardly wait to set it up and start working but I have a few hundred pictures to work with first.

Now that we have a new home, Tim is encouraging me try new fiber adventures because he wants a quilt.  I saw a beauty at a honey store but my computer is having a brain freeze and won’t let me upload more pictures.   Maybe it’s a bit too much for the first (actually second) attempt but…

Back at the cabin, it snowed today but not enough to break out the new  snowblower.  The fireplace and wood stove kept us cozy and I broke out my spinning wheel for the first time in months.  Time to get back working on the fleece I washed in a bucket at the lighthouse.

I’ve returned home to paradise.  A new neighbor stopped by with banana bread.  Another had picked up our papers when we were away from the house getting the boat ready for winter.  Here’s the real clincher.  I was walking down the street and passed a teen on the other side of the street walking with earplugs in.  He paused and made a point to wave!!  I think we’ve found the place for us.

But what about our hot tub.  I was dubious when I returned to find this tub in our yard but after two soaks, I’m almost embarrassed to say that it was pretty nice.  I hear dueling banjos in the background but at the same time, I look up at the sky and see stars and mountains around me.  The debate continues.  We’ll probably get the real thing but in the mean time, this isn’t too bad.  You should see our couch!