The Luna moths are in bloom

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They’ve been spotted hanging around, literally, by both Tim and me. He saw one on the side of a local retail store and took a photo with his phone without knowing what it was.

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I saw one ( well actually, he spotted it) yesterday at the marina. I looked it up and learned it was a Luna Moth, a silk spinning moth!

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The mind reels! Could I spin its silk? More importantly, how do you collect it. My questions were answered by a site written by a fellow spinner from Ravelry, Wormspit.

Alas, no free fiber for me. What a beautiful moth.

Winners and losers

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Not all my projects can be winners. I was eager to get back to the loom and make six placemats. I measured, wound and secured the warp without difficulty for a change. In all, I had about a mile of cotton; 280 ends, each about 6 yards long.

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Looks good so far, right? After this it became a disaster and I was in no position or mood to photograph it. I tried to follow instructions to dress the loom from back to front and ended up with a snarled, tangled mess and a backache to boot.
So on to the winners. Remember that batch of beer I made about two months ago?. It’s ready! And good enough to drink! A winner!

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We struck gold, black gold, Texas tea

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In more ways than one. We are sailing again, on Lake Champlain. As pretty as Maine without lobster traps. In fact the lake is often more than a hundred feet deep.

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We anchored in a lovely bay, all by ourselves, just a half hour from home.

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Our home port has the High Peaks as a backdrop. And our little dink looked so cute bobbing and waiting for us at the mooring.

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But now for the real news. Simple composting works. I began a pile last year when Hurricane Irene damaged our bridge and made garbage pickup impossible. It was simply a ring of chicken wire. Yesterday, I shoveled 3 plastic toboggan’s worth (poor woman’s wheel barrow) and distributed our recycled kitchen waste to enhance our sand. It had compressed, broken down and even had worms. The critters seem to really like coffee. The clean filters were littered in a path behind the pile.

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Sew what

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No time to blog. Obsessions overtook me. I wanted to finish knitting ( actually modify) the Na craga sweater I made my son, just in time for his summer graduation.

I found beautiful fabric and decided to make my own wrap dress for his graduation (photo to follow, I’m on the road without my laptop). Perhaps a little frumpy but the fabric was beautiful. I prepared and presented a talk about ob/gyn EMS emergencies.

Then on to favorite daughter’s birthday. I made her a potholder, to remind her of her favorite cat, and finished her quilt. I had it waiting for her on my hotel room bed! The quilt not the cat.

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This was my first attempt at free form, machine quilting a queen size quilt and oh what fun I had. Really. I use an old Singer and had bought a special darning foot but couldn’t get the darn thing to sew properly. For two whole days! So I loosened the feeder foot, put a business card over the feeder dogs, and away I went. It was like doodling on fabric.

Now, to the loom before my sewing thread sets the needle and hauls me in, back to the machine … For a blouse, another dress, linen pants, finish two quilts and begin my next large quilt (planning in process).

Fiber monkey on my back

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My love of all things fiber continues to grow and expand. It began with knitting an Aran sweater in 2005 and, today, includes knitting, spinning, dyeing, weaving, quilting and sewing. In addition, I’ve always had a love of linen table fibers, as evidenced by the dining room drawers jammed with lace, damask, tatting, linen and hand crocheted doilies, tablecloths and runners, a few even hand made by yours truly.

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My true addiction was revealed
yesterday. I couldn’t pass up a yard sale I saw on my way home from the recycling center. There were hand crocheted tablecloths, linen-hemstitched napkins, and embroidered table linens, all meticulously clean. They sparkled in the sun and smelled so fresh. I decided upon a crocheted tablecloth and set of linen napkins.

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I got home and decided to organize the linens. Unlike my other fiber stashes, which are sequestered and scattered throughout the house waiting for inspiration, table linens have to be accessible. So they are. Stuffed in drawers.

Lo and behold, I already have a set of hem-stitched, linen napkins. But you can never have too many. I hung up the tablecloths, which were wrinkled because they had been jammed in the drawers, and, since it was a sunny, breezy day, washed a few of them and hung them on the line to dry. My domestic goddess is happy.

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Birdwatching

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Shirley and the hummingbird

We all enjoy birdwatching at our house. There’s an abundance of activity right outside. Shirley watched this cute, unsuspecting hummingbird for a while and it’s hard to capture her attention these days, since she’s about 16 years old.

Evening Grosbeak

I saw a goldfinch on steroids the other day on my drive to work. Its coloring reminded me of a bird wearing a doctoral hood but I only had a brief glimpse of it on the roadside. They came to visit the feeder and posed for photos. They are not jacked goldfinches but Evening Grosbeaks. Sweet.

Low ceiling

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Low ceiling

We hiked Hurricane on Mother’s day. Our concern before beginning was the cloud cover would be too low to provide views. Close, but views were far reaching and beautiful.

Views to the Lake

We finally remembered to bring binoculars and could see clear to Lake Champlain and Vermont. It’s a fabulous spot to hike to and spend time on the rocks for lunch. We forgot lunch. Happily the black flies were still sleeping.

Hurricane fire tower

The fire tower is a little too rickety for my taste to ascend and it’s one of those instances when the view can’t get much better. The fire tower was a target of controversy recently when the DEC wanted to dismantle it. Public sentiment prevailed and the tower remains. It stands as a beacon on the mountain near our house.

Bad hair day

It was a bad hair day but I worked on some self portraits while the others clambered around. Sadly this may be the best of the lot. I’m sporting my new jacket, which was a birthday present. Light, light, light and waterproof AND breathable. Go figure.

Muddy boots

My ability to rock hop across streams is abysmal. I just can’t do it. I tense up and all is lost, even if the water is only 6 inches deep. I gave in and chose to wade through when needed. No pressure. After all, I was wearing wool socks and I could take off my wet boots when I got home.

Fiddleheads

Ferns were popping their heads through the dead leaves to signal the start of spring in the Adirondacks. We passed two other mothers on the hike. One in her thirties and the other in her eighties. You have to love the Adirondacks!

A walk back in time

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I walked around the pond in the park where I spent hours, days, months – a good part of my life – with my kids when they were young.

The memories of time spent feeding the ducks, watching them play, make new friends, fall and get up again, nearly knocked the wind from me. Now they’re grown, no longer follow ducks but still play and work and make new friends.

But it’s happening all over again. Its the same but different. Young parents walked their children around the pond but aren’t allowed to feed the ducks. Swans had new baby swans. It was much lusher than i remembered and the irises were in bloom. And the coyotes stood watch?

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Cooking with fire

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My forays into the chipmaking world continue. I narrowly averted a disaster yesterday though. Chips taste nice with spices on them. But since the chips are cooked without oil, spices don’t stick to them after they’ve been cooked.

So, why not add the spices before cooking. I tried turmeric on celeriac chips. Luckily I stuck around while they were getting zapped. I heard a strange buzzing once and when it happened a second time I turned to look at the microwave. There was a Star Wars like beam of light radiating from the chips to the top of the microwave. May the force be with you.

Last night’s dinner was an interesting combination of cooking technologies and speed. Pulled pork simmered in the slow cooker all day, soaked beans cooked in no time in the pressure cooker and baked potatoes were safely zapped. Slow food?