Spinning

Despite a lovely gift of fiber, a spindle and a beautiful carrying case, I am not spinning. At least not yet. My friend, Dianne, knows I have the makings of a spinner and she is doing her best to encourage me. She dyed the pretty blue wool and set me up with a teacher who came to my house to show me the ropes. I get it. I'm just not doing it.

Other things I am not doing: writing blog posts, knitting, taking photos. I suspect it is just a normal lull. I am NOT writing about the snow. No long walks lately, no creative cooking.

Instead I have been going to the gym, reading to Ray, and watching college basketball while listening to Leonard Cohen songs. The "I'm Your Man" video led me to the Internet to research the lyrics for "Hallelujah"and then to Patty's house for more music by Rufus Wainwright. I had to buy a new iPod, then rearrange my iTunes playlists to accommodate the change from Shuffle to Nano. Find a new Spanish teacher for Ray. Daily life.

We will go to the cabin again in a few days. I'll burn wood, shovel more snow and do some reading. Here's a picture from the February trip.

Reno

Dave had an airport conference to attend in Reno, which is where my mother and one of my sisters live. So Ray and I tagged along, happy to escape our happy home for the pleasures of a hotel stay and a visit with Grandma.

Once we had airplane tickets in hand and had confirmed travel dates, a sort of family reunion got organized. My other sister and one of my brothers drove in from Eugene and Elko with their spouses, and several nieces and nephews came over from California. Four generations were there, from Grandma at 75 to my niece's daughter, age 22 months.



Of course, the baby was the star! Little Aubree was doted on by all of us; her cousins Ray and Rowan took turns walking her up and down the stairs and I think my sister, Aubree's grandma, would have given her the moon if she'd only asked. She was bright, good natured and totally delightful. What a sweet child!

Ray loved staying at the hotel. He loved the pool and Rosie's Cafe and the slot machines and the elevators. He liked the ice machine and his great, big bed. He was really looking forward to room service but I talked him out of it. The restaurant looked too good to me after an hour or two of "home school" in the mornings.

I sure miss my family. We stay in touch but we are sprinkled all over the western part of this very large country so we don't see each other enough. It was a nice visit; it was just over way too soon.

Pile o' Sugar

Ray was tasked with bringing a cake for auction to a Boy Scout dinner. He was supposed to make it and decorate it but, of course, he needed some help. I subcontracted the help element to Katherine, who did the design, the shopping, the baking and the decorating with Ray looking on. The cake was called a Pile of Sugar by the auctioneer and sold for $45. It was also declared "The Yummiest".

The kids were happy.

We have been out of town (Reno) and today I am taking the computer into the shop for a few days. The blog will be ignored for just a bit longer.