I finished my 'Artisan' vest (pattern from Green Mountain Spinnery) in handspun natural Wensleydale and I'm still considering if I like it. It needs buttons and maybe that will give it the lift I think it needs. It is perhaps a bit stark, except for the luscious cream coloured fibre. Sometimes it takes me a while to warm up to a thing I make because of course I have to be critical of things like tension issues in both spinning and knitting (and this poor baby was definitely tension challenged!). It is a beautiful wool to spin and I'm hoping to do another project with it. Currently I'm keen on some 'oatmeal' coloured Blue-faced Leiscester and a dyed colour way of unidentified wool called Marmalade. I'm postively twitchy any time I see it at Sharon's studio so I go stroke the fibre in the bags because I cannot yet afford to take it home. Another down side of being on pogie and having every penny accounted for weeks before it even arrives.

Spent a couple of hours knitting at Sharon's today, working on the Sakori vest (Folk Vests book) now that the Artisan is done. A lot of plain knitting in this project and then I'm done with winter woollens except for socks which I plan to go at with wild abandon (I can afford wool for socks!) until such time as real and considerable income arrives in my life. It was such a miserable soggy day that I decided I didn't want to haul my Little Gem wheel, basket with wool and snacks etc. anywhere. It was simpler to take a smaller bag with my knitting.

It was cool enough in the house this evening for me to light a fire in the woodstove. I love to sit and watch the fire. Too bad there's not enough space in this room for me to bring a wheel in here safely (it would sit too close to the stove, not a good idea). What I do in this room is write, knit, or pick wool. And at that I've got it packed with too many books and bags of projects. As I complete projects I think for at least a minute that will mean that the pile will go down somewhat. Hah, that's a good joke. I simply move projects in from other areas of the house, to keep the pile constant I guess and never have to face that terrible feeling that I have nothing to do. Now what will I spin next I wonder, or do I need another skein to be safe that I have enough for the Sakori vest. I know, I know, I should work out the number of yards per skein and check that against the pattern, but what's the fun in that?

Mid-week blahs

My energy has tanked today; and why that should be so on a gloriously sunny warmish day I'm not sure. Possibly because it has now been two days without any spinning. Clearly life is not happily sustainable unless I spin something every day, it's either that or alcohol and as I can't afford the latter, spinning it will be. Think I'll have a salad for supper and then go to the wheel for some productive meditation time. Then knitting and perhaps a movie until bedtime.

Have decided that I need to WORK the next several days, prepare for the portfolio sessions which I'm facilitating next week and just generally catch my breath in terms of my work commitments.

The road trip was unsettling because we were asked if we wanted to present at a major conference in June. More on that when I have details and confirmation. Even more unsettling was news that the career resource centre in this town is very likely defunct. This is a terrible bureaucratic move, a waste of resources as well as a reputation for excellent work with clients which has been built over many years. Who is going to do this work now?--persons/organization so far unknown. And does that leave me any options to do contract work for the CRC?--I doubt it. It's the old 'one door closes, another door opens' but at the moment it seems to me that doors and windows are bolted and I have too few options for income earning in the immediate future. Much as I enjoy subsistence on pogie, it has a very limited run--until sometime in September. Then what?

Well I can always bury myself in books. I have a huge stack on loan from the library and the CRC. Books on the history of Naples and the library of the Papyri in Herculaneum, American Fascists by Chris Hedges, Work Identity, Narrative Therapy, Ellis Peters mysteries, and a knitting mystery. Throw in a few cutesy self-help books and knitting and spinning magazines and you have a fuzzy picture of what I'm entertaining myself with at the moment.

Meanwhile (I'm very fond of this word lately) I have to get off my duff and do something--either about supper or spinning but have been sitting here for an hour without the ability to make up my mind which it should be. That energy thing you know.

A long weekend seems a perfect time to indulge in some serious cookery. On a small budget I really needed to be creative and think I did remarkably well. Began my kitchen marathon with Savoy cabbage and Italian meatballs, a Marcella Hazan recipe. Then I made a paté with pork and veal of indeterminate age excavated from the freezer. From there I went on to Braised Lamb Shanks a la Rob Feenie-a spectacular recipe which fills the house with fragrance all afternoon as the shanks simmer. Tonight it was another Hazan recipe, Sausages & Cream sauce for pasta. Who says you can't eat well while subsisting on the 55% of your work income that pogie so generously gives you as an unemployment stipend. And everything makes leftovers so I probably won't actually cook again until next weekend.

But I do have to bake some banana bread or muffins to use up over-ripe bananas and as I'm going on a road trip (not long only a day trip to Truro) I need something for snacking in the car. I'm not that interested in moving now that the sausages & cream sauce and pasta are settling, though I'd best get at the task anyway.

Spun more silver coloured fleece this afternoon for the Sakori vest I'm making out of it. Worked on the artisan vest-but finding it difficult to crochet the edgings as I can't see the damn thing easily. Definitely need my glasses tuned up a notch or two because I'm going cross-eyed doing handwork lately or reading the computer screen.

Did write today, and completed my preparations to take the taxes info to the accountant. That was the work portion of my day.

Was disappointed last night that the copy of Auntie Mame (1958) wouldn't run past scene 18. The DVD is broken and badly scratched so it has gone back to Zip.ca for replacement. I have Little Miss Sunshine to watch again if I feel so moved, but I'll probably just knit for an hour and get to bed early. I have to be ready to hit the road at 8:00am which means for me a 6:45 stumble out of bed. Not a favourite thing to do, and must do this twice this week. Hey, I'm unemployed, what's with these early mornings anyway!

April Fools are continuing to call my phone--wrong numbers of course, early in the morning, late at night and all different folks. What is it about dialing the correct number that people don't get? I particularly enjoy it when I answer, inform the person that this is a not the right number, and they immediately dial it again. This just happened as a write this note. I mean it is annoying enough to get endless sales calls at supper time without a raft of wrong numbers as well.

Ah, a gripe, what better way to begin my new effort to write regularly on this blog. Perhaps I have nothing more interesting than the occasional 60 year old's annoyance to report, but I don't believe that's true or I wouldn't bother myself or you, dear reader.

I'm decompressing at the end of a lovely day spinning Polwarth top on my Majacraft Gem in Sharon's studio, and enjoying her teaching a young girl the finer points of drop spindling. The decompression was required as a result of a drive home in slushy rain and hysterical amounts of traffic for rural Nova Scotia. Traffic gets into this state on any weekend where stores may be closed for a few hours--what? we'll starve in the next 24 hours if we don't buy out the local grocery stores while we have the chance?

Me? I'm staying home and cooking for the next couple of days. And yes, writing a book proposal and working on the non-fiction project. I'm keen to justify my long coffee swilling visits at a local cafe or two, hanging about talking to people, which of course is so much more fun than work. Will spend some time at the spinning wheel for relaxation and to keep making progress on a knitting project with a spin as you go feature.

What am I cooking? Braised cabbage, because I have a tired cabbage to use up; and braised lamb shanks for Easter dinner. Have done my research on www.foodtv.ca and found two lamb recipes for which I have most of the ingredients--I'll therefore likely combine them in some way and make my own, that's usually how it works. Any excuse in both recipes, to use juniper berries.

Time to feed the woodstove and consider what I want for dinner--ah, yes, the last of the French onion soup would be perfect, a little glass of red wine and something in the chocolate way for dessert. Ciao!