Is it Friday already?

I have been up to my neck in ESOL reports. My name must have been called at least five times over the PA at school yesterday. I swear, I'm going to STOP checking my box anymore. I called the ESOL county head and asked her "Are you trying to kill me?" when I got a report to fill out at 11 am Thursday morning. Then, the middle school which feeds our school had already sent their files through the courier. They did have the info available anymore. "Would you be willing to do the report for us?" So, as soon as these eight files arrive, I'll be filling out paperwork for them. Sigh.

All that being said, I was ready to DRINK last night. My bridal shower was so much fun!! I had (one...two...) six of my buddies from Johnson and nine of my Flowery Branch buds come to the party (I'm probably missing a bunch). We had munchies and margaritas! Maria makes the best margaritas!! We sat around chatting. Then I introduced everyone and opened gifts. More on them later. All were gorgeous and thoughtful! I have such amazing friends. grin

After the party, we went to Maria's to play cards. We sat on her back deck; the weather has been wonderful the last few days. We then went inside and played a round of "Screw Your Neighbor". It was getting dark so I headed home around 8:30pm. Long day!

On Memorial Day I went looking at houses. Miguel went with me on Wednesday to view the same houses. The one we both liked the best has four bedrooms (nice master and three small rooms), great sunlight in the afternoon, and a nice backyard. We started filling out bank forms YYUUCCKK!!. I've got to finish one today (between my school reports and actually cleaning my room) and fax that off. Plus, I have thank you notes to write for my friends at Flowery Branch. Another busy day.

But, it's Friday!

Look who swiped my romney!

Yesterday was great!

I had my spinning class given by Donna Thorton. She brought two spinning wheels, a few spindles for sale, examples of Turkish spindles (very interesting!), and lots of different samples of spun fibers. We had 5 students who sat around a couple of large tables as Donna told us a little about spinning history. She passed around and described the different fibers (spun and unspun) and any dyes which were used. Then she showed us how to spin using a drop spindle. My spindle apparently is not well-balanced enough to spin and spin and spin, so I have always park and drafted. I picked up a beautiful spindle for sale, and that one spun very well. And yes, I did buy it (she said she would hold the $45 check for a week).



I also got to try one of the spinning wheels. It is double treadle, and I got the hang of it rather quickly. Went looking on ebay for a similar wheel and found one for $350 (including shipping). I might go see Ginny at The Spinning Shop and see what she's got. After buying the spindle, Donna gave me quite a few ounces of romney to take with me. I advertised the PINS tea shop get together, and I headed out the door just after 2 pm.

As I pulled into the Purple Iris tea shop, there was no parking! It turns out there were 11 of us at the tea! I came in just as everyone was begining their show-and-tell. We had the normal cross stitchers, knitters, the hand-quilter, and a rug hooker. That was something most of us had never seen before. Incredibly time consuming!! I showed off my drop spindle and the different fibers I had been working on. Most people had not seen spinning before, either. I also showed off my felted day pack along with the picture on the pattern booklet.

We ate, drank, and became merry. It was another lovely afternoon shared with friends, food, and fiber! (nice alliteration, huh?)

Have a great Sunday!

WOOHOO!

The kids are gone. Now, don't get me wrong. I love them, but it was time for summer vacation to begin. I did get a lot of hugs from my beginners and some who were going to move away. I also got a couple of gifts--a small bottle of Skin-so-Soft and relaxing bubble bath from on of my advaced girls (the Miss Latina contestant) and a cute teddy bear figurine (I collect bears!) and two beautiful crecheted doilies. :)

After school, my department head had his end of the month/end of the year get-together. He has wine, beer, and munchies and teachers from his old school and people from Flowery Branch come to unwind, vent, "partake", and have a good time. One of the teachers makes awesome wines and brings them from time to time. He had an "apple butter" wine (very sweet with a finishing KICK) and a red made with concord grapes. Everyone loves to see David come through the front door carrying a cooler. :)

Today is going to be busy and fibery. I've got to hit a grocery store, Target (my watch died yesterday. The last day of school, and Friday to boot, is a bad day to be stuck at 11:13 all day.), post office, and probably IHOP pretty soon. Yum! Then, at 1 pm, I have a spinning class at the LYS and my knitting tea afterwards.

The sun is supposed to come out again today. We've had rain for the past week or more. It came out yesterday for an hour or two and then driving home from the party--more rain. hrumpf!

It's the weekend and I have Monday off. It's a good thing.

Two days to go...two days to go...

I'm giving two exams today--first period and third period. The kids can bring notes from home which allow them to go home after their third period exam at 12:30. If they have no note, they must stay at school until 3:20 when the busses roll or until a parent comes to check them out. PLEASE let all my little darlings go home. I think they will, though. I've been pushing it for a week now.

During the exams, I'm bringing my felted day pack and spinning. I only have 20 questions to finish on my second period exam, and it's hard to watch them and type at the same time. So, a fibery day for me! Yippee!

Busy week!

Not only do I have exams to finish writing and copying, I have to watch the FINAL Buffy show tonight. I am so depressed! My favorite show is ending. I'll have the kleenex ready; I'm sure I'll be needing it. :(

What with exam-making, there has been very little spinning (and no knitting--gasp!). I might get a little in tonight fore BtVS is on.

Sigh.

I am, however, looking forward to when exams are finished. I'm doing them on psuedo-scantron, so they will be graded in a snap! Because I'll be grading this way, I'll be able to monitor (and spin!) better rather than trying to grade as they finish. (One exam in 171 questions, and the first person took it today is 45 minutes--they will have 90 minutes to take it.)

This weekend is my spinning class. Yes, I know, I already know how to spin. I'll be looking for tips and fine-tuning my technique. That's at 1 pm. At 2 pm, our PINS (Purple Iris Needlework Society) will be meeting at the tea shop. Beth, the owner, apparently has something special for us. I'll be late, but I'll be there!!

Buffy. No more. Sigh.

It's a cool, gray day here in North Georgia. This morning I paid bills (yuck!) and ran some errands. I bought but have yet to really check out my first issue of Spin-Off magazine. Time to do some more learning about fiber.



The fiber on the left is The Beast, from Threadbear, and the right is from The Spinning Shop. I'm enjoying spinning both.





Here's a picture of my honey and me and our wedding rings.

Let's see...

I've been spinning a lot. Geesh, but work really gets in the way! My kids are going through the full-moon-crazies right now. Argh!! The current mantra is "Only __ (7) days left of school. Repeat...repeat..."

My second period is throwing me a surprise party (tomorrow). I was told to dress nicely, make the guacamole, and buy a present for one of the boys who had a birthday last weekend (they collected $20 for his gift). It's Teacher Day tomorrow (in Mexico) and apparently, we're celebrating. The kids have been kicking me out (of my own room!) to discuss their plans for this party. Should be interesting. :)

Miguel went yesterday and picked up the rings. They're beautiful. I'll try sometime to post a picture. I had to make sure it fit and wore it for a couple of hours. It's the comfort fit design and while heavy, it's not uncomfortable at all. Oohh... can't wait for Vegas.

Happy Mothers Day!



I had a very fibery day yesterday. I hit my LYS before lunch. Quilted Hearts has once again expanded their knitting section. The owner greeted me with, "Hi, Nicole!". Always makes me feel good to be known. (Leo, remember?) I showed her my spinning, and she thought it was pretty good (for a beginner, I'm sure). She then showed me some yarn that roving had been spun into by the farm owner. Nice and soft and bulky. I hope/think mine will be that soft once I wash/set it.

I asked Sally about getting the phone numbers for some local farms who sell their fiber. Sally gave me two numbers, but I wasn't able to get in touch with either of them. Then I remembered The Spinning Shop in Dahlonega. I called, got directions, and headed out on the 45 minute drive. It took me a little double-tracking to find it, but now I know what to look for.

It's on a homestead from the 1880's. The spinning shop was in a one-room wooden shack. She had ziplock bags of rovings in different sizes, colors, fiber contents clipped to the walls, hanging from the ceiling, and in tubs on the floor. There must have been a hundred baggies. She also had natural dyes and some knitting yarns and needles. It was very rustic but charming.

After I picked out my goodies, we went into the main house for a tour and to pay. She showed off her spinning wheels and a gorgeous tartan she had woven and fulled that week. It was stunning!. On Wednesdays, she has open spinning and dying at her house. The second Sunday of the month is open spinning in Dahlonega. (Yes, that's today, but I probably won't have a chance to go. The spinning is from 1-5, but Miguel and I have an appointment to look at a house at 4 pm.) I will definitely try to go sometime this summer.

FINALLY!

Well, anyone who has visited my blog in the last day has seen my html ineptness. I really need a web page publishing class. Whew!

As for knitting, I would love for my fiber to come in today, but I don't know if it will happen. I'll probably go pay my cabel bill across town and hit the LYS. I'll take my spun yarn along with me to show off. :)

Does everyone like my new logo? I really do! I feel like a real blogger because I have a "designed just for me" logo. Thank you, Tom. I found it today in my email. I've been trying to insert it now for a half an hour, and it finally works. Woohoo!! Now, let's see if I can make a button... Hmm...

July 14, 2003

I have booked the wedding chapel for 4 pm at the Always and Forever Chapel. Yippee! I'm excited because I know we're going to have so much fun with everyone being there with us. My sister and her fiance' are tying the knot the next day, also in Vegas. Cool, huh? We're both staying at New York New York, and my parents are staying at the MGM. We get to explore two hotels. :)

Rings are on the way. I've got the dress. We're registered at Target. Plane tickets are here. I think we're a go!

I haven't done much knitting or spinning in the last couple of days. I plan on doing a little on the Kilim and spinning some tonight. I ordered some fiber from Rob and Matt at Threadbear so I can't wait to spin something new. :)

Can you say, "Day from hell?"

Today we had a tornado warning at school. The county was under it for about an hour. We stayed in my windowless room (not a bad thing in situations such as this), against the wall, watching the local station's weather reporting. It got really scary when they were mentioning roads I am very familiar with. Luckily, the storms passed with nothing more than severe thunderstorms. Then, after everything settled down, I had to boogy across town for a county meeting which was NOT cancelled. grrr. Two
hours later, pissed and frustrated, some of my buddies and I went out to eat dinner at Applebees. Who was dying for a beer (or 8!) and had forgotten ID at home? Yup, me. Sigh.

Is it summer, yet?

Not such a good weekend.
I ran out of green Cascade 220 yarn so I couldn't finish the bag. I called a buddy to vent, and Miguel didn't speak to me for a half an hour because he had thought I bought more yarn to finish the project. Of course, telling me not to do something makes me want to do it all the more. sigh
Got into an argument with Miguel about ...stuff...Kissed and made up, but I'm still kinda pissed. Gotta let it go.
Didn't sleep well and am getting the soreness I expected.

On to other things...

Fiber. Where to buy? Who is your favorite source for roving? Email me or post on my ZonkBoard. :)

Ugh.

This morning, our Student Council participated in Make a Difference Day. We went to Elachee Nature Center and helped them clear a new hiking trail. OMG! Talk about a good workout. Whew. I can barely type. I have to rest a little before going upstairs and taking a shower (maybe a bath, instead...). I had six kids out there. We were in a group of maybe twenty total. It was fun getting out into nature (I do miss not having a private yard). We have decided to wear our (cleaned!) T-shirts to school on Monday. :)
Next year, we'll know what to expect. They take volunteers the first Saturday of every month. I might go out on my own sometime. :)

Sigh.

Here's my first attempt at spinning the fiber that came with the drop spindle. Not very even.

Here's my second attempt. Much better, I think. This is the roving I bought from Quilted Hearts, my LYS. Somehow, this fiber, even though it's denser and rougher, seems easier to spin. Maybe it's because I'm getting better? I would have thought it would be harder to spin than the softer, white roving.

It's getting bigger! I'll gave a busy weekend, but maybe I'll be able to finish the straps. :)