St. James Court Art Show

Day one.  A successful day of sales, seeing vendor friends that we see only once a year, visiting with returning customers....what else could anyone ask for?  Maybe pictures?  Well, I have to laugh at myself.  I took my camera and did not take one picture.  Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better photo day.

The quality of vendors on Fourth Street is super this year.  I love the creativeness of each vendor.  Unlike fiber festivals/shows,  the variety of art work is so diverse.  I would love to have the time to stay in a booth and just soak up the energy emitted by each artist. 
But, the time out of my own booth is limited to just a few minutes each day....less than, I would guess, ten minutes.  Therefore, I will never be able to see the work of many vendors....only those in my immediate area.  

The show is located in a historic area of  Louisville, called Old Louisville. The home behind our our booth was build in 1863.  The area is the nation's largest Victorian neighborhood in the United States! 


The residents of the home are Rikki and her husband.  He is a professor at the University of Louisville.  She is an avid collector of anything Lion.  To walk into her house is to walk into a walk into a museum of Lion art.  There are Lion paintings, sculpture, stuffed Lions, Lion jewelry etc....  


Rikki always had a "spread" for artists in their area.  Food abounds.  Delicious food and a BATHROOM!  She also shares her recipes.  


She told us a joke yesterday and I am going to close today's blog with the joke.


"There was a woman, 
she was driving down the road and saw a frog.....
she picked up said frog.....
while driving, the frog asked for a kiss....
she kissed the frog....
the frog turned into a super handsome guy.....
THEN the frog  asked her  if he could kiss her....
She said "OK"
and She turned Into................


tune in tomorrow night  to find out what.....


Good night and God Bless y'all.....

TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS

I haven't posted for a few days for a couple of reasons....maybe three... four or more.... a lot more.  

I have have had knee replacements with the first being fifteen years ago. My doctor said I was too young, but the quality of life was stinky.  He scoped it first and that was successful for about a year then, we tried Hyalgan shots in the knee.  That was wonderful until I went on a home tour, walked up and down stairs all day and walked from home to home.  By the time the tour was over, my knee hurt and looked like a balloon.  

Surgery was scheduled and I did marvelously!  Physical therapy (p.t.=pain and torture) worked wonders.  That knee has been perfect until now.  Now, standing is a problem.  And what do I do?  I stand to do much of my art work and stand to work with customers.  

A knee replacement will not happen until I am totally miserable.  The surgery is ok, but the physical therapy is hard, hard work when I am working with a physical therapist.... maybe physical terrorist!  

Also, I am having problems with my back.  Let's think about this... hummmm.....no more comments here.

Also (again) the arthritis is in my hands.  This makes my art work hard, hard, harder.  Three years I had my left thumb repaired.  You don't want me to describe it.  The procedure sounds worse than it is.  But..again there was three months of occupational therapy on my hand.  (another terrorist!)

Tomorrow, I go to the doctor for my right thumb.  Dumb thumb.  Here is a video of the surgery he will do, hopefully next week. Pretty soon, I am going to be the Bionic Woman with all new joints!

St James Court Art Show in Louisville, KY is Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  I should, do ya hear that S.H.O. U. L.D. have a huge inventory for this show as it is a great show to sell my artwork.  

I do not have what is needed to provide the income that I desire.  Every time I make something, I'm out of commission for days on end.  Frustrating.  Right now, I have three hats that need to be embellished and I have no strength in the thumb, but plenty of pain.  
I am going with what I have done and be thankful for what is finished.  I'm going to stand there and smile as I sell whatever people purchase from me and other vendors.  I WILL be thankful for what income my work generates.  We may travel this winter with less money, but I WILL be thankful that we are traveling.  

OK, enough of that...next crisis.  I started the washing machine to, of course, do laundry.  Out comes thick BLACK water!  I immediately shut off the washing machine.  At the same time I hear John calling out to me, "do you have the washing machine on?"  He was getting BLACK as he was washing his hands. 

To make a long story short, the black, gritty water was only coming from the hot line so we drained the hot water tank until the water is now crystal clear.  Panic for a little while, but simple reasoning saved the day.  Now, we will see if the water stays clear.  

Now I am way behind.  I've laundry to do, dishwasher to run, etc. etc.  We will leave directly from Ortho Indy after my appointment, so I really don't have much time....and here I sit and whine.  

OK, back to work.  Be safe in your activities out there and

God bless and keep you!  

MY ONE HUNDREDTH POST

I started my blog a bit less than a year ago.  Some days it is impossible to think of something to say that would be of interest, even me.  Other days, I am Chatty Cathy.  Today is a so so kinda day.  


We are up to sixteen followers.  Welcome to the newest:  Jim and Sandie, Teri, Gypsy68, (I cannot locate your blog) and Mia and hubby whose name I cannot find.  So glad you have come along for the ride. 

Dinner with Meg and Harper was great.  Miss Harper is growing and filling out and developing a sweet personality.  What amazes me is that I have forgotten how to comfort a little one.  When she started to fuss, I had to hand her back to Meg and instantly, I mean in the flash of a bolt of lightning, Harper was happy again.  Makes me sad that I've lost the touch.

Today, had lunch with friends, Kay and Lolita...great Christian fellowship.  Lita has been a friend for about 38 years and Kay 26.  That's a long time.  

When Kay moved here from Arizona, I would get soooo tired of her complaining about how boring Indiana is and how great Arizona will be forever...Now that I've visited Arizona, I see what she was talking about.  What a beautiful state Arizona is.  I have had to eat crow and admit to her that she is right, but Indiana is still OK.  


Lolita is from North Carolina near the Outter Banks.  That is another great place.  Her hubby is from Kentucky.  Now, two of her three children and their families have settled in Kentucky.  Guess where they are going to settle in their retirement..... not Indiana!  Yeppers,,, Kentucky.  


Has ANYONE retired to Indiana?  Not that I know.  Why?  

Can you tell me why people do not retire to Indiana?  Please!

I just don't understand!  I'm sitting here scratching my head...trying to figure this out... hummmmm






And those photos were taken BEFORE we left for the southwest!  More and more of this lovely weather came after we left.  Whatcha think?  


As for now, It's a pleasant seventy one degrees.  But it is cloudy.  It is supposed to rain tomorrow.  Haven't seen a sunny day since last week.  I don't think I'm a great advertiser for Indiana, do you?  


With all that said, I'm done for today.  For you on the road, for those waiting for repairs, and for those who are looking forward to getting on the road.....be safe


And God bless your walk today.

HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN....

We cruised right through Cincinnati with just one stop at Bass Pro Shop.  John picked up what we needed as Oliver, Noah and I lounged in the motorhome.  

Our next stop was in Oldenburgh Indiana.  Oldenburgh has a total population of 640 according to the 2010 census. The average income is over $65,000/yr.  With a population of six hundred forty, you would think it was a drive through and not notice town. It isn't that!  The town seems much larger and has large churches and is noted for the spires.   It is only forty-one miles from Cincinnati.

This is where you will find Waggner's Inn.  The Cincinnati Enquirer listed the Inn as serving the best fried chicken in the area and in our opinion, they were right.  Oh my!  But don't order mashed potatoes.  They are instant, so I had a baked potato.If you are traveling to or from the Cincinnati area, but sure to check out Waggner's Inn, right on main street.  You will not be sorry!


Last night was the fall premier of NCIS and that is John's all time fav show.  It was to start at eight and here we were leaving Oldenburgh at seven.  We missed the first half of NCIS - bummer.  John took it quite well.  He said he'd catch it in the reruns. 


When we came into the house Oliver did his "normal" - maybe not so normal - well let's say normal for him running through the house.  Up and down the hall, over the hassock, back down the hall, into the master bedroom down the hall, through the family room.  Needless to say, he slept well last night!


Noah went out for his nightly prowl and was ready to come in at bed time.  Now that surprised me.  I thought he'd be out all night.  


Today, we have just been catchin our breaths.  We did some banking, picked up a few groceries, put gas in the Miata since the price of gas was down here as it was in Yellow Springs.  Now, if it would continue to go down to a reasonable price.  I'm not holding my breath, but we ARE filling up the motorhome to take advantage of the price.


Tonight is Wednesday night and that means our Mexican night at El Rodeo.  Our grand daughter and Harper (our ggd) are meeting us tonight.  Meg is a real sweetie.  She called her "capaw" to wish him happy birthday while we were in Wisconsin.  Very throughtful.  


I am reading of fellow RVers having problems.  Judy is still having her brake problems.  John and Carol have a defective radiator.  Jim and Linda are also having their share of problems.


My prayers are with all of them.  After our experiences last winter, I know how frustrating and discouraging waiting, being at someone's mercy feels.


As I write this I am looking outside and watching the squirrels  play tag, running up and down the trees and across he ground.  They are having so much fun, it makes me laugh to watch them.  


For now, safe travels.  May those responsible for getting repairs made work wisely and quickly.  And may those who are not having problems continue to have that good fortune.  


And may God Bless you all.....

HOW ABOUT SOME TIRES FROM CHINA AND LED LIGHTS

A quick continuation of my rant about China imports.  Check out the East's blog about their tires from China.  The saga continues.  I think I'd be pulling my hair out if I had two blow outs within eighty miles of each other.  And to add insult to injury, there is damage to their rig that needs to be repaired.  


We had another restful night here in John Bryan State Park.  Today, we are one of two campers.  Talk about quiet!  The only thing we hear is the chitter of one bird and the caw of a crow. 

 

The shelter house is a bit from here, but you can see how nice the area is.  The park is located on the Little Miami River.  In addition to camping, there is rappelling, rock climbing and mountain bike trails.

We are going to Clifton to visit the Clifton Mill.  The mill is one of the largest water powered grist mills still in existence. The first mill at this site was built in 1802 by Owen Davis, a Revolutionary War soldier and frontiersman miller.  The mill was built in it's location to take advantage of the natural power of the concentrated water funneled into the gorge. 
This is a photo I captured from the Internet.  We are looking forward to touring the mill and having our lunch there today.

Lunch is over and we are back on the road exploring the back roads.  The mill was a nice place to visit and to have good food. 

Gas has dropped forty cents a gallon since we came in on Friday!  Now, that is a very good thing!  Good ole Gas Buddy made us aware of that. He's truly our buddy.


Since we boondock / drydock some of the time, we are always looking at ways to conserve our electricity and have been considering LED lights.  


I have looked at them while visiting camping world, but keep wondering if we need to purchase new light fixtures.  Have any of you out there had experience with the lights?  


Well, we are off towards Cincinnati...I wonder what we will see next?  


For now, be safe out there and..........


God bless

CHINA STRIKES AGAIN WITH CHEAP, UNSAFE PRODUCTS AND OUR DAY OF REST

I am still on my soapbox so watch out, folks!

The following paragraphs are taken from Penny's Tuppence's blog.  I feel that the information is important enough to pass along.   The links will not work as this is a copy and paste. 

"Alert for Chinese Treats.

"The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) has notified the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) of reports of possible toxicity with chicken jerky treats from China.
The recently reported Fanconi syndrome-like symptoms in dogs are similar to those documented in 2007 by the AVMA, also associated with chicken jerky treats made in China.

The AVMA issued an alert to its members, state veterinary medical associations and allied organizations to 'remain vigilant for illness possibly linked to chicken jerky treat consumption.' "
Dr. Becker recommends you not feed chicken jerky treats to your dog. Select an all-natural, protein based treat like Beef & Bison Bites, or another healthy treat made in the U.S.
As with any treats, they should be fed only occasionally, not routinely. This is especially true for small-breed dogs."
More at: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/07/26/avma-issues-alert-for-chicken-jerky-treats-from-china.aspx"

Karen in the Woods left a comment this morning.  She asked if the chicken in the chicken and noodles I fixed last night was from the chicken that hitched a ride under the motorhome.  Nope Karen, as far as I know, the girl is fine.  Three people said they would give her a home and we did not see her wandering around as we left.  

It has rained all day making it a lazy, lazy, sleepy day here in the John Bryan State Park.  The deer come and go at will.  Some with their camouflage spots fading.  They seem so small to be going into winter.

There are only 5 campsites occupied tonight.  Couple that with the campsites being quite large and the pads being blacktop for nice, level parking, what else could we ask for?  


I have found some new dyes to try.  I am ordering them over the Internet and looking forward to their arrival.  They are dyes that contain no heavy metals and are so good to the environment.  If I like them, I will be selling them on my website and at fiber events.


I am going to be more scientific in my dyeing.  Thus far, with my acid dyes, I have been a throw the dyes in the pot and see what I get type of person.  


Now that my hand spun and hand dyed yarns are selling, I want to have larger lots of colors for people to create larger projects such as wraps, sweaters, etc.  Just more of expanding our business to provide our customers with the best we can find.  

I love it that my hand spun is selling, but that means I need to be spinning, spinning, spinning.  And that's not all bad....well....that's not bad at all!   I just wish that I could spin, crank socks and felt at the same time!  I wonder if the Bionic Woman was able to do that...hummm....thinking....it hurts!


We did not find a weaving loom that we liked at the Wool Gathering.  We will be looking at them at SAFF in  Asheville, North Carolina in a few weeks.  I am patient, I can wait, I think....


I am also looking for a yardage counter for my yarns.  Right now, I wind the yarn around the lip of my felting table....then I must rewind the yarn into a ball or cone in order to package it or to knit on my circular sock machine.  


Have I ever told you I love all things fiber?  Can you tell?  There is only one problem....my weight never goes down.   


That's all for tonight!  Be safe out there!


God Bless!

IT IS OVER! NOW TO REST AND ENJOY

We are back at the campgrounds and homemade chicken and noodles is on the stove.  It is VERY unusual that I'm not draggin me behind at the end of a show and here I took over the kitchen and making a good comfort food for our after the show dinner!  

Our sales were better than yesterday!  That is soooo unusual for a show that ends on Sunday.  Usually, Sunday is so slow has such low attendance that one could shoot a cannon down the isles.  Today, you could still shoot the cannon down the isles, but each sale was much higher today.  One sale today was the total of two or three of yesterday's.  I can live with that.  

The Dixon's sent good wished and prayers last night and I thank them for both.  God is so good and is totally in control.  

We have decided to stay her tonight and maybe even tomorrow night.  I do have a lot to do in the studio to get ready for the St James Court Art Show in Louisville, Kentucky.  It is in two weeks and I am trying to decide if I can take the extra day off.  I need to work on my inventory.....what's a person to do.  

The weather was wonderful this weekend.  Mild temperatures only in the seventies, a bit of a breeze.  In the sun, I was hot and in the shade, I was too cool without a shirt...just my kind of weather.  

It is so nice to offer people products from the USA!  I am so tired of seeing the made in China label on everything.  I know that we need to watch our dollars, but we need to support companies that are in the U. S. of A!  I would rather do with less and support my country's businesses.  

Last week at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool, a couple came into my booth and purchased a Schacht spinning wheel.  Why?  Because they are farmers and finally.....finally had a year of profit on their farm.  

They said that the previous year, they were in the red.   Why?  Imports!  Why?  Because people made purchases of products made in China, India, etc.  

I am a small business person, Merikay is a small business person...Hilary, of Crazy as a Loom, Mike of Mike Mad City, Karen of Karen in the Woods....these are all bloggers...and I have not mentioned all.  These are the persons that we need to support.

OK, I'm off my soap box!  Only because dinner is ready! 

Safe travels to all....God bless your walk today and tomorrow!  

DAY ONE AT YELLOW SPRINGS AND A WOOL GATHERING

Day one is over.  Sales have not been as good as any other show I have done all year.  Today, I sold a third of what I usually do on the first day of a show.  THAT is not a good thing....

I have noticed that sales have been shrinking here each year.  We will probably not return next year.  This is our business, not a hobby.  

On a liter note, a chicken that has been roaming John Bryan State Park campground.  Last night after we returned from our set-up we were watching this hen wander around until some thoughtless campers let their dog chase it into the forest.  We did not see anything else of the chicken the rest of the night and this morning.

Fast forward to this afternoon.....I am walking back to the motorhome for a short break and guess who hitched a ride under our rig.  You guessed it!  Now the hen is at the grounds of the show!  Two people have said they will take the chicken home to their farms if they can catch it.  That will be a better life for little Henny Penny!  
We had a visitor in our booth near the end of the day.  We had Oliver in there and she is a dog photographer and she took some photos of Oliver to put on her blog.  They should be on her blog in a couple of days at www.dogpatchpix.com.  

I sure wanted to steal her camera!  It was the second camera that I wanted to cameranap today.  sigh......

The campground has a nice group of campers this evening.  Fire rings sport orange flames moving like ballet dancers.  She sparks jump into the sky providing us with peaceful shows of fireworks.  All is well.  

Tomorrow is another day.  If I can sell the antique Canadian Production Spinning Wheel, we will have a better show and I have a feeling that one of the vendors is coveting it.  We shall see.  

Of course, John and I are looking for a smaller weaving loom to take in the motorhome, so this show might not be a profit maker anyway if we can find the right loom.  God is in control.....either we find it or we don't.  Either we have a great show, or we don't....it's all in His hands and we trust him for all.

Dinner is ready, I must go....

Be safe everyone, and God Bless ...... your day, your travel and just you!   

JOHN BRYAN STATE PARK, YELLOW SPRINGS, OHIO

We arrived at the John Bryan State Park early this afternoon and have been resting since then.  Well, at least I have been resting.  John worked on the water heater and I took a nap.  Sounds good to me! 

Shipshewana was a bit of a disappointment.  It rained and dampened our wandering. But all was not lost.  As we were leaving Elkhart, we stopped at RV Surplus.  They had just about everything.  I picked up the cord to re-do a shade that is broken.   And john bought another 50 amp plug.  Wow, such big purchases!

As I write this young deer are running at the edge of the campground and a chicken is pecking the ground looking for food.  I went to take a picture of it and the batteries are dead.  I will post a picture tomorrow after we set up our booth.  

The campground is spacious and about four campsites are occupied. It has been quiet all day.  The trees are showing a hint of yellow and red.  This should be an beautiful place in just a few weeks.  We might get a light frost tonight and that should help the colors appear.  

Tomorrow is the second hardest day for the show.  Set up takes second place with tear down taking first.  When setting up the booth, usually  we come in rested and ready for the challenge.  

At the end of the show, we have met and talked with every visitor in our booth.  We have demonstrated how things work and generally, we are "up".  That takes energy.  That makes taking down at the end of the show hard.  But it is also pay day.  

Well, dinner is done and it's time to eat.  Did I tell you that John is a good cook?  If I didn't, let me say that John is a good cook!  

Have a great evening and day tomorrow.  For those on the road, safe travels and for all..........

God bless!  

WELCOME TO DUNCAN RV SERVICE

On our way to Elkhart, Indiana and Duncan RV Service, we stopped by Cabella's for a look-see.

I did not find anything that was special enough to purchase.  John found their 50th anniversary cap and just could not live without it.  

We arrived at Duncan around 8:30 last night.  The hook up area is right next to the building and across from a salvage yard.  One machine works all night, but did not keep us awake since we were so tired.  We hooked up and went to bed and seven o'clock sure came too fast.

The windshield install was to be completed by noon, then we had a six hour wait so the seal on the windshield could set  up. Oops!  They delivered the wrong windshield....can you spell D E L A Y??? 

The new glass arrives and the installation starts around two o'clock. It's in!  Now to wait for the set up time. So here we sit, w.a.i.t.i.n.g.... We will leave here in the morning and head to Shipshewana, an Amish community just east of here.

I am missing all things fiber.  I really was wishing that I had my spinning wheel in the Duncan waiting room.  I'm not a good TV watcher and had nothing to read or do...can you spell bored?


Speaking of Duncan's waiting room....

It reminded both John and I of waiting in a hospital's waiting room (with a bit more comfort) and awaiting news of a sick relative!  Hoping for the best, but preparing for the bad news.  Thank goodness, we had good news!  

All I can say is I highly recommend Duncan RV Service!  What a crew!  If you ever need service on your RV in the northern Indiana area, you can feel confident that they will take good care of you.  


So, here we sit.  Watching NCIS. Waiting to leave tomorrow.  Have a safe day and 

God Bless...

LEAVING WISCONSIN AND NO CHEESE!

Wisconsin Sheep and Wool is history for another year.  We saw old friends.  Made new ones.  
h
We were lucky enough to meet Mike of Mad City Mike's Blog.  Mike is a weaver and a craker of antique circular sock machines.  At first, I thought he was a member of the RV family, but after talking,  I realized that we met through a cranking blog.  

I did not see one sock machine this week end.  It was at Wisconsin that I found mine last year.  And what a year of learning it has been!  I am now comfortable with my ole machine.  I wanted to bring it this trip, but decided we had enough planned to fill all our free time.  

I had a great group of students for the felting class.  They all listened to the instructions and made some lovely felted slippers.  


I had a mishap right before the class started.  I was burned by boiling water.  Luckily, the burn was only on my index finger and a small place on my thumb.  The index finger burn is a third degree burn and hurts a tad...just a tad.  


I was wearing a brace on my hand and I am sure that the brace saved me from much more injury.  

I have photos from the class and hope to learn to post them for all to see.  I love techy things, but often don't know how to operate the little buzzards completely.  


We are now on our way to Elkart, Indiana.  We have a cross wind that is really rough.  We are passing a construction site and the dust is blowing from the site enough to look like smoke from a wildfire.  

In Elkart, we will be visiting Duncan RV to have the windshield replaced.  Last winter, we were attacked by a huge sheet of ice that sent me ducking for cover.  The ice blew from the top of an eighteen wheeler.  What a shock.

While at Duncan, we will be doing some looking at neew motor  homes.  We hope to move to a newer rig and we need to see what we like and don't like in order to make a wise decision.  We went into the purchase of this one with no education at all.....not a wise idea.  

'Nuf said for now.  be careful out there!  And God bless your day!

.  

 

RUN OVER BY A MACK TRUCK!

That is exactly how I feel this evening.  The last three days have been, what can I say......excruciating?......busy?......hard?......tiring?......really, I have no word to describe them.  

Tuesday:  pack the  motor home.  Run errands, Pack the motor home more.  Pack, load, pack, load....bed.

Wednesday:  Stock refrigerator.  In  other words, ....  Pack food and load refrigerator and freezer.  Finish getting clothes into motorhome closets and drawers.  Since the temperatures went from ninety eight degrees to fifty in a twenty four hour period, we had to pack for cool and hot temperatures.

We pulled out of the drive about three hours later than we wanted.  We need to get fuel.  Pull up to the pump and I discover that my business debit card is not in my purse.  Can you spell getting testy?

Exit BP station, drive back home, up the drive, go to green barn to look for the card that I think is in the Miata...not there....walk to house to look for missing card...oops!  It's in my book bag from my trip to the library and Tuesday's errands.  

Back to motor home that John has turned around and is poised, maybe a bit impatiently, waiting for take off.  Back to BP...fill up with gas and we are off and two hundred dollars porer. (we did not fill up)



Now, to make things interesting, we are now entering the rush hour madness.  We cannot take Interstate 74 west since there is a major road construction effort underway, including a HUGE detour.  So we decide to take the south loop of I 465 to I 70 then cut up on state highways to 74, thus missing the detour.  Right..sure...have you heard of Murphy????

Traffic is not toooo bad......UNTIL.....we get around Interstate 70 and I 465, out by Indianapolis Municipal Airport.  Just as we commit to that and voila, a traffic jam.  Not an ordinary traffic jam, but for over 2 hours there was no need to use the accelerator.  Just take foot off brake and let the rig creep up five or six inches, hit the brake and wait for about ten minutes and repeat!  That does wonders for our m.p.g! 

We finally reach the state highway that will take us up north to I 74 and we are off!....., Not so fast, buddy.  THAT road had a detour!...just a small one though.  But..... we decide to take another road that actually takes us through the town that NASCAR drive, Jeff Gordon is from.  

Pittsboro is the name of the town and it has a restaurant that serves great catfish.  We love young catfish, so we stopped at Frank and Mary's for our first F & M's catfish in fifteen years our so. We had our dinner, which did not live up to our memories and off we went on our trek to Wisconsin.

The drive from our driveway to Frank & Mary's would normally take us a little over an hour. Then our meal would last an hour - maximum.   Our driveway to the Indiana / Illinois state line takes about two hours.  So that would mean that if all conditions were good, we would arrive at the state line in three hours.  That would be seven o'clock.  

We arrived at the state line at nine!  You get that?  NINE O'CLOCK! 

Mapquest said this entire trip would take six hours and fifteen minutes and we were at the state line in five hours.  Can you say, we...are...running....late?  

Well, we drove until about midnight, stopped at a new Sam's and Wally world complex at the intersection of I 39/I90 and WI 26.... (nice) and fell into bed to wake up at nine this morning.  Are we having fun yet?  

We awake bleary eyed...I wonder why???   After a drive through at Micky D's, we drove a short, short distance to Jefferson Wisconsin for the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival. Ahhhh, finally achieve our driving goal. 

We were fortunate enough to be able to drive the motor home right into the building and unload.  I think that is our first good break in over a week!  God is good!

The booth is set up and if I must say so myself, looks great.  I have an antique Canadian Production spinning wheel for sale and a gently used Schact Matchless spinning wheel in our booth to sell.  There are the knitting / plying / warping bowls thrown by our friend and potter John Todd, aka PawPaw Pottery.  Then we can add our fiber, knitting lights, needle felting and wet felting supplies.  


I am looking forward to meeting fellow blogger, Mad City Mike.  Hopefully, Karen in the Woods will also show up and introduce herself.  If there are others in Wisconsin or traveling through the area, please come to the Country Market - West building, north west wall, come buy and introduce yourselves!  


But right now,  It's 8:06 and I am going to bed!  Night all!


God bless and hold you in the palm of his hand.  

ENCORE!

Let's see if this works.  I started having problems with the last blog when I inserted pictures.  I have done this before, using pictures from other web sites with no difficulty, but something was wrong this time,
fo shore.... 

 I wanted to welcome new followers.  Mike of MadCityMike's Blog  has joined us.  He is a fiber artist and is a "craker" - circular sock machine person.  

Hillary of Crazy as a Loom has just returned from a week in Maine only to find that her husband suffered from a stroke while she was gone and would not tell her.  Such love.


WestieWaggin' has also joined us, but I cannot find a link to their blog.  So, Westie, if you have a blogspot, please let us know, if you choose, so we can follow your blog.


Then there is Katie and her human!  At Me and My Dog, they are having a super time out wanderin the good old U S of A...


Last, but not least is Al aka Stargeezer aka The Bayfield Bunch.  He has a great post every day and the pictures are to die for to boot! He and his better half, Kelly are getting closer to their departure date and he's chompin at the bit!


Now, I think I am all caught up on my welcomes.  If I have missed you, I'm sorry.  I love having new followers to my new blog.  


Have a great week, everyone!  and God Bless! 

T MINUS TWO DAYS!

In just two short days we will leave for Wisconsin.  The Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival is this coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday. September 9, 10 and 11. I will be vending there and Sunday, will be teaching a felting class.  

John has been working on the motor home and there is one leveling jack that is acting up.  It will not retract thus when he wants to level the passenger side, the jack just hits it's "toe" on the ground.  Grrrr.  He has tried to pound it back in with a rubber mallet, sprayed tons of W-D 40 on it, begged, pleaded, offered me as a sacrifice, all to no avail.  

On the brighter side, he has found a wonderful cleaner/wax that is doing wonders on the motor home.  I wonder how long it will take to do all thirty five feet of this wheelestate.  

Did you catch that last word?  We want to eliminate our real estate and have only our wheelestate.  Seems like a good trade to me!  

I am really pleased with some of the fiber that I have dyed.  I finally put on my dare devil hat and started mixing my own colors.  I love how they have turned out.  The fiber I have dyed is mainly for the felting class that I will be teaching, but there will be some left to sell at the Wool Gathering in Yellow Springs Ohio the following weekend.  

	Jeb Mac (Jeff McKinley) and his wife, Carolina Pearl, will be back this year entertaining the kids playing a farmhouse fiddle, banjo, lap dulcimer and other instruments. The children young and old enjoy singing along, playing instruments and dancing.

If we have room in the motor home, I will take my circular sock machine on this trip.  We will be gone for two weeks and I hope I can spend a few evenings knitting socks.

As we look to winter travels, I have decided to take my sock machine, possibly my Schact Matchless spinning wheel and supplies to do more fiber "paintings".  

Since we will be leaving in December rather than February, we will have more time to do our artsy activities.  


As I finish each step of preparation for the fiber festivals, I move the completed items to the motor home and am totally impressed at how much better my studio is looking.  What makes it even more pleasing is that I am not in the cleaning mode, but it looks like it!  I kinda am impressing myself.   


Wisconsin Sheep and Wool is only in it's 10th year and is a huge success!  It is full of classes, competitions, an auction, style show, youth activities, stock dog trials and more events. 

 

There are tons of vendors!  (Ahem....I'm one! - in the west building of the country store.)

 

People come and shop till they drop.  

If you are in driving distance, come visit us.  

It looks as if the weather is going to be great this year now that it has cooled down.  Blogger has started creating a problem, so I will sign off since I  cannot control it from this end.  Hopefully, someone will have an answer for me in the comments!  

Be Safe all - And God Bless and keep you....

 

 

 

WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR COOLER TEMPERATURES???

For the last week or so, it has been so comfortable around here.  Temperatures have been great.  But today, the heat is back with a vengeance.  The high today was ninety eight.  Now that in itself would be tolerable, but I have been busy dyeing fiber (roving) for upcoming fiber festivals.  

The dye pots have been brewing for the last three days and will continue through the weekend.   The colors are bright and cheery with thoughts of approaching fall and winter.  In addition to dyeing, I am assembling felting kits, doing some felting and the normal things I need to complete before leaving for fiber events.  

The best thing about these events are seeing our fibery friends again.  Some, we see just once a year.  Others vend at the same shows where we are.  

Thank goodness it is supposed to cool down after the first of the week.  If the forecasts are true, the highs will be in the seventies!  Now, that is something I look forward to.  

John is getting the motor home ready for travels.  The new floor is down.  The new faucet is installed at the kitchen sink.  Cabinets have been cleaned.  He in our nephew, Fred installed the new television and fixed the water heater problem.  


In June, the pilot light failed to ignite and we have had no heated water since then.  That was fine during the summer since the hot daytime temperatures made the water hot enough for our showers.  But, fall and winter are approaching, so working on that problem became a necessity.


I posted our problem on the Winnebago Yahoo group list and there were two suggestions.  One person suggested that we check the igniter.  Another person said to look for insect nests.  It turned out that a spider has woven a web and it was preventing the ignition.  There was also a mud dauber building his mud hut in the compartment.  We really do not welcome hitchhikers!

The last things that need to be done on the motorhome is installing new driving lights to brighten the highway at night, clean and lubricate the leveling jacks, and check the undercarriage for anything loose.  We have had a rattle under there and want to make sure everything is road ready.  

The Robins have left us.  And that seems strange as Al of the Bayfield Bunch was telling in his blog that the Robins there in Canada are gathering in flocks for their southerly migration.  I guess our place is not the gathering place this year.  

Now, we just need to be on the look-out for lower gas prices.  We use Gas Buddy 
and they do a good job pointing us to the lowest gas prices around.  I am surprised that the prices have not jumped back to the $3.70 range, but right now it is in the $3.50 neighborhood.  It's crazy how we can be happy with $3.30's.  And the people in Canada pay even more than we do.  Go figure.  

I'm off to check the last dye pots of the day.   Be safe out there this week end!  


God Bless!