And the moral is.............

I've been busy! I teach, I spin, I knit, I dye, I scrap. There's more, but this is the fun stuff.

Well, I lucked into seven pounds of soft, fluffy, natural colored spinning fiber. It was said to be Australian, but unknown breed. It feels soft enough to be Merino, but that is unconfirmed. Well, I have spent much of April dying lots of 4 to 8 ounces. I've used Kool Aid, food coloring and Easter Egg dyes. I recently saw a method that uses the dyes frozen and the sun to heat and set them. So, I decided to give it a try. I made my "dye popsicles" last week and since there is some sun, decided to try them outdoors today (although, my recent check shows they aren't going to melt so I'll have to bring them in and use the microwave). I'm having lots of fun!

However, there is a moral here. It's one small step that I know to follow, everyone does. But I was in a hurry and missed this one small detail. I thought, "It just can't be that bad", so I did it! I didn't put on my rubber gloves. Just look at the result. Now I'm wondering how long before my fingers are a reasonably normal color again.

Oh, and the other hand has some too, just not as bad.

So, the moral of the story is.....
Remember to use ALL the steps and you might just have normal colored fingers!

What keeps me busy!

Besides the kids, home schooling and daily chores that is.....

The batt (at top) weighed just over 1 pound. The skein at the bottom weighs 3 oz. (so lots more fiber to spin) and is approximately 256 yards. I still have enough for a second skein spun and have to get it plyed and off the bobbin before my class next week.

Birthday Adventure!

Well, DD turned 6 years old! What a marvel. She has a loose tooth (been that way a couple weeks but she is more interested in it being loose that it being out). She has grown enough that a dress given to here last year will finally stay on with grow room to spare. And she is learning at the speed of light.

We had not really planned a big tadoo as she had a good sized party for her 5th, but the day before I discovered some very fun family things to do. So, shortly after lunch we headed out on the town. We visited a local mall where there was a wood carving exhibition. There was a gentleman there who would wander around playing his hand made violin. I only wish I could have captured the sound as it was extraordinary. He also played a Chinese Gezheng (not sure I'm spelling it correctly, sorry) that his granddaughter made with his help. There were many wonderful items to admire and even a few for sale.

Also stationed at the mall, were my friends from the Anchorage Spinners and Weavers Guild. This turned into a fabulous adventure when one of them offered to teach the children to weave on a small table loom. All three were fascinated and we spent over an hour letting them "play". Hmmm.... I smell a school project for next year as we spend time calculating the yarn requirements for a project and then execute the final pattern. (I can rent the loom for $20 per month from the guild.)

Finally, a trip to the local Pizza Hut for dinner. Usually a reward for completing their reading projects, this time we only let it be a birthday trip. The kids had all earned to right, so I didn't feel bad about using the coupons this way. And then home for cupcakes and presents.

What a big day!!!!!

Oh, and a final note, we had such wonderful sunshine I was able to snap a shot of our local snow mountain. For those unaware, Anchorage is fast approaching record snowfalls for the winter. It's so bad that the plows no longer have a place to put the snow and many parking lots now have corners devoted to the stacking of the unwanted white stuff. Not far from our home, is one of the many snow dump sites that has been used up until just recently. Believe me, it's a mountains worth.

Here's Christmas! Hope yours was as good as ours!

Here It Is!!!

Here's the video from DD's ballet recital. Turn on your volume, and prepare to smile. DD is in the back row, right.

A Successful Weekend

Well, it was busy but I do think we accomplished our list. The final presents have been purchased (still need to start wrapping). We have a tree to place the gifts under (needs decorating). Met with friends, saw family, and fit in DD's dance recital.

If you want to talk cute, let's discuss the recital. The kids were just adorable, most of them under 7 or 8 I think. I haven't had a chance to look through the video and a friend took photos that I haven't seen yet, but here's a couple of my pictures.After the recital was when we went to look for the tree as well as rewarding our dancer with a vase of pink roses and dinner at Pizza Hut.

We did that in quite the snow storm. All told we got at least 6 inches. But during our dinner the temps rose 14 degrees and by the time we got home there was a record wind storm. Our cable kept going off and power flickered for at least an hour, probably more, then it stopped as fast as it started. Roads were a total mess this morning and will be worse tomorrow as temps drop again turning wet snow and slush to ice. They even closed school here in town. Well, you can't let the rest of the kids have a snow day and not offer the same to the home schooler, we we took the day off too. They are off building snow men as I type.

And now I'm back to trying to complete tasks that just seem to pile up. Hope all are well out there!

She Did It!!!

DD passed the Level 1 Math Skills test at 95% (without the extra credit)! That means she is basically advanced at the 1st grade level. She adds and subtracts and handles all the basic geometry and algebra with ease. The only areas she needs more practice is Time and Money, which we really have only glossed over to this point any way. I was pleased that she got 3 of the 4 coins correct and even the basic o'clock time.

To say I'm proud is an understatement. I only gave it to her to see just what she had retained after completing the "kindergarten" math book I had purchased for her this year. She still has to do the "1st" grade book and I doubt she will be ready for the Level 2 test before next year, but hey, she's not yet 6 years old!