Memorial Day Weekend

We had a great time this weekend! It's always great when you don't have to work on Monday. We played with the lovely and talented Disco, ate crawfish, visited the 'rents, went to church (they had a wonderful tribute to military personnel), went fishing, and took lots of pictures. Not bad, huh?






Who is this hottie?




Why, it is Her Royal Highness, Queen Disco the Sweet









Meet our new friend Rudy the hummingbird:

Rest and relaxation, folks...that's what it's all about.

This is where I was yesterday...






And this is what I heard...

Weaver Fever

Have you ever been on Ebay, you know, just looking at stuff, 'cuz you're not gonna buy anything, you're just browsing, but if a good deal pops up, maybe, well no, you shouldn't buy anything today?

Yeah, that's what I thought.

In a moment of what I like to call "Weaver Fever" I accidentally bid on a loom. Granted, it was a good deal (I think) and I may eventually need one of these looms, but I really don't need it now. It's too much loom for me. It's an older LeClerc Dorothy table loom. The shipping from CANADA was half as much as the price of the friggin' loom! I really need to limit my Ebay searches to items available in the United States. At least it didn't ship from Australia. Lesson learned. (BTW, if anyone is interested you can e mail me for more info on the loom. I'm trying to unload it now.)

Some camera stuff

I took a few pictures a two local parks this weekend, but I don't have any magical photos to show off. I was just trying to get used to the camera. The camera and software have so many bells and whistles! I still haven't gotten it all figured out, and I think it may go fairly slowly for a bit. Bear with me.

I think the photo of the bird would have been great if I could've found a spot that allowed me to get its face without the willow in front of it, but there was no such spot.

Check out this spider!!!!!!!!! This is without a doubt the biggest one I've seen "in the wild". It was several inches long. I enlarged it a bit with some software (but couldn't figure out how to save the edited image) and I could see all its eyes. CREEPY.

I like these photos of an outside wall a reconstructed fort.

Curse of the Black Thumb

Some people are born with the ability to grow anything. They surround themselves with lush, happy foliage and can do so in any environment. If they put a plant in a dark, oxygen-deprived room, they could still make it worthy of Southern Homes and Gardens. I know people like that. And I hate them.


I hate them because I have the Curse of the Black Thumb. It runs in my family. There's nothing I can do about it, yet I fight it every year. You see, that which I love I also kill. And I really love herbs. Lemongrass, spearmint, chives, basil, you name it, I've tried to grow it. Each Spring I have visions of walking through my container herb garden like that scene in Gladiator when Dude is walking through the wheat field and he's touching the stalks with his fingertips, enjoying the sensation of having a meaningful exchange with the fruit of the Earth. Oh yes, I can smell the lemongrass now, as I brush past on my way out the door. I laugh gaily as I snip a fresh sprig of rosemary for my chicken dinner.






Eventually the fantasy dissipates, and I am left to face a harsh reality. I am a killer. And here's the proof. Yes, the brown, dry "sticks" you see here are the remains of a bergamot plant. It never even flowered.



And these gems, formerly known as spearmint (left) and chives (right), shuffled loose their mortal coils in the recent and yet ongoing drought. They made it through the winter when I rarely watered them. The chives actually thrived. And here they are, dead as doornails, but I won't throw them away. I guess I think I can resurrect them. Ah, but I know better. The curse will not release me. And apparently I don't even have the decency to remove the price tag from the chive pot. Man, that's classy.

I Will Survive

Okay, I know everyone is on the edge of their seat, waiting for an update on my sinuses and stomach contents.

Turns out the antibiotics I was taking made me sick. Apparently, lots of people have trouble with this particular kind, and I am one of those lucky individuals. Now I'm taking a different kind and am no longer kneeling at the porcelain throne and my sinus issue is clearing up. Thank you, modern medicine. Of course, the incantation and chicken may have worked just as well. :)

I have made progress on the banjo strap. It has been a little slow because of my heddle issues but it's moving along now.

AND...

My camera and lens were mailed to me so I now have a working digital camera to use whenever I see fit. Yea!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited! FINALLY. I'm going to take pictures all weekend and annoy everyone with e mails of my spectacular photo achievements.

Praising Queen Latrina

FYI - low cal/low fat, microwaveable pizza-like frozen meals add even more unpleasantness to vomiting. Shoulda' eaten soup.

I need an incantation and a chicken, STAT!

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! (shaking fists at the Heavens)



That was my yell of desperation accompanied by fury fists a la Frank Castanza from Seinfeld. This is my 12th day having a *&%$! sinus infection. Normally they aggravate you and go along their merry way but this one has latched on and knocked me on my butt. Will it never end?! I've missed work, missed sushi with the girls, and missed yard sales because of this microbial infestation. Yard sales, I say! That's how my husband realized I was actually sick - I missed the yard sales advertising the sewing machine I'm drooling over. Too sick to shop. Tsk, tsk.



To add to my misery, my reward for accompanying Ty to the woods this weekend (while sick!) is having 42 gazillion mosquito bites covering my body. Mostly my lower extremities. Before we left the house, I think I said something stupid like, "Mosquitoes don't really bother me much. I guess I just have that kind of body chemistry that turns them off." Can you say KARMA?



So since I'm confined to the house I have no choice but to rattle on, forcing y'all to read this, searching in vain for something cool with pictures. I'll refer you to yesterday's blog.

Oh, goodie, another wave of nausea... Odd, being hungry and wanting to vomit at the same time.

Anyway, I am making progress on the banjo strap. I like the colors so much that I decided to weave the full 8 feet my inkle loom is capable of so I can use some of it for my own purposes. Whatever they may be. The only problem is that even the new heddles I made are too fat and fluffy. I keep having to cut off white fuzz from the woven strip. And when I push down on the warp it gets caught in the fuzz and I can't tell which are the open threads and which are the heddled ones. Soooo, I push down three or four threads at a time and use my stick-thingy to hold them down. AND my heddles are not exactly the same length, so some of the heddled threads look like they are, in fact, open threads and that slows me down a bit. Other than that, it's going swimmingly. God as my witness, I will not cut this warp off AGAIN.

Photos to follow when I get a Freakin' lens for my new, expensive, birthday present which is staring at me even now, begging to be used.

Disco models her collar

Here is the lovely Disco, showing off her new collar for her Auntie Manda. Could this be the world's next top model??

Proof of my stupidity

My friend Stacye and I can really identify with the novel and movie character Bridget Jones. Poor Bridget, she tries so hard to keep it together, but she always ends up sabotaging herself. She can really do some dumb stuff. Stacye and I do dumb stuff.

Thus, a new phrase was coined. Now, when we do something stupid or ditzy we say we "pulled a Bridget" or had a "Bridget moment. Alas, there are far too many of them.

Now that you know the background, let me tell you that I pulled two Bridgets that are making me insane. First, the new digital SLR camera that my FABULOUS husband bought me arrived yesterday. Woo-hoo! I'm so stoked! The Bridget was 1. ordering a separate lens that will not ship until the end of the month and 2. leaving my other camera and only lens with my Mom who lives three hours away. And my husband has his digital camera in another state. So I have a cool new toy that I can't play with.

The second Bridget occurred during a recent weaving attempt. I warped the inkle loom to make the banjo strap - all 64 threads - and began to weave. Weaving was almost impossible since I had 1. failed to slide my tension bar back and 2. made heddles from thick cotton which the crochet thread weft has difficulty passing by when I make a shed. I made a few passes and realized that the hour I'd spent warping the darn thing was in vain. I almost shed a tear while I cut the warp off. I would post pictures of this failure, but I don't have a lens on my camera. (expletive)

Closure

The dog collar is finished! Halleluiah! If you can get past the stitching (which a blind, armless monkey could have done better) it's pretty cool. I never claimed to have sewing abilities. That's what Singer and Kenmore are for. Now baby Disco can have another collar, for when she's feeling pretty and girlie. I'm kinda proud - it's my first "real" weaving project. Pardon me while I pat myself on the back (pat, pat).

Now on to the banjo strap. I've got the colors picked out. It's daring, I know, but I will be venturing beyond two colors for this band. In fact, there will be a total of FOUR colors represented in this accessory. I've begun the warp, but haven't progressed far because I've been sick (cough, cough) and I was on the computer all day looking for house plans. But that's for another post...

A deer has enough brains to tan its own hide...

I, however, am no tanner. I have tried about half a dozen times, but I just can't get it right. If I didn't have a job I could probably work it out. If tanning hides WAS my job, maybe it would happen. It takes approximately a week to complete the process. Darn if my job and errands and sleeping don't get in the way. This was my last attempt. Maybe I'll try one more time, since I made that nifty hide frame and my father-in-law has been storing it for me. Since I have a supply of hides (my husband and I and his family and pretty much all his friends hunt) I thought it would be a great idea to use as many parts of the critter as possible. I had visions of making native dress from a hide a tanned. This hide ended up being a very big chew toy for a dog. At least my dogs-in-law will be happy. Now for anyone is who horrified and offended by this photo and the fact that I am a hunter, know this: I have a great rifle and scope, so it only takes one shot. We eat every deer killed and rarely have to purchase beef which has questionable origins and loads of hormones and additives. And I do use other parts of the animals in my experimental archaeology projects. I am not in it for the antlers. Of course, if a record buck walks out in front of me and my great rifle and scope, he's toast. Er, make that roast.

Some newbie photographer images

I don't think National Geographic will be beating down my door, but I had fun taking these photos. My goal isn't to be a professional photographer, just to take better-than-average photos, not just snapshots.

I plan to revisit this cemetery a pretty good bit, since it has some beautiful monuments that date back into the 19th century.

I took a photography class recently and I learned A-LOT. For one of my assignments I went to a historic cemetery in town and took some black and white shots. Here are some of my favorites.

In response to Cla's comment, here's the ginormous cross. I was going for a "looming" effect here. The photo didn't turn out like I wanted it to, but the cross is gorgeous. It's carved on both sides.

Thoughts from a beginner weaver

I have only just started weaving. I up and decided to buy an inkle loom a few months ago and had barely made a band when I decided to apply for graduate school. I put weaving aside to study for the GRE then picked it back up recently. I have learned this craft from books and the internet. (Not to mention trial and error.) I finally found a fiber arts guild not far from me, so perhaps I'll even get a little hands-on instruction. I have made a total of 5 bands so I am a neophyte. I don't know what I'm doing yet, but I will post my successes and failures not only as a kindof scrapbook for myself, but also to document my progress to those who will very likely receive woven bands for Christmas. You think I'm kidding. And maybe, just maybe, I can help a new weaver learn from my journey into the fiber arts universe.

My first inkle band attempts

How is it possible to obscure the warp on a warp-faced weave? I'm not sure, either, but on my very first attempt to weave an inkle band, I managed to do it. Maybe the warp threads were too far apart. At least after a few inches I almost got the hang of it. The warp is visible, anyway.

My third attempt was better. I used a graduated warp, so it changed from a light orange to a very bright orange and I like that effect. Just the ol' line-down-the-middle pattern. This was only a test. Had this been an actual woven band, it would have been longer and finished on the ends.

Eventually I got cocky and decided to actually try a pattern. The result was a very narrow band which I use for a bookmark. I gained a bit of confidence with this one.

My most recent accomplishment is a dog collar I made for my friends' new puppy. It is a feminine collar, but Disco is a pretty little dog. I still have to put the closures on it, but that won't take long. Next I plan to weave a banjo strap for a friend. I'll post that if it goes well. Or even if it is a horrible mess.

Why I weave

There are many reasons why I weave, and I've compiled some into a handy list below.

1. It relaxes me.
Except for warping the loom, which makes me crazy, the weaving process is soothing. When I get a good rhythm going I chill out a little.

2. It is a creative outlet for me.
I have always wanted to create, and since God bestowed upon me no talent WHATSOEVER, I took up weaving! I like to make pretty, yet utilitarian objects.

3. I can create objects, clothing, bands, etc., for re-enacting, another "hobby". Um, I mean Living History. That doesn't sound as dorky.

4. Mass-produced products are overrated.
I'll make my own fabric, thank you.

5. I can do it on a plane (fingerweaving), I can do it on a train. I can do it in a house, I can do it with a mouse. You get the idea.

Update

Just to update y'all a bit:

I will start graduate school for archaeology in the fall (yikes!). I'll still be working full time, so it will be just a tad stressful, but I know I'll enjoy it. I have picked up a coupla hobbies here lately: photography and weaving. My wonderful, ruggedly handsome husband is buying me a new digital SLR camera for my birthday and it will arrive any day! When I get good enough I'll post some of the photos I take with it on here.

I've also started weaving on an inkle loom. It's small and used for narrow bands, like appliques on hems and straps and garters.







I plan to progress to a floor loom so I can weave clothing and blankets and such. Oh, and I am learning fingerweaving, too. I guess this came about from the living history events I participate in through work. We reenact the 18th century Alabama frontier, mostly French and Indian War period. I'll post more about that in another spot.

My baby sister Meggie got married this past weekend and she looked like an angel. I've never seen a woman more beautiful than she was. And she is so happy with her husband, B. I now have an official nephew, LC. You'll see pictures of all these folks at some point.

Mom and Norm are great. We got to visit with the step family at the wedding and we had a great time!

Dad is...well, Dad. Same ol', same ol'. He's great.

Work is good, but busy.


It's starting to get hot down here in the deep South - I think we skipped Spring altogether. Of course that
means that hunting season is over and DH must resort to fishing. Correction - he can still hunt hogs, and there are plenty of those around.