My Wednesday

I am hoping that yesterday is not typical of my days to come. Actually I know that it won't be because cucumbers don't grow around here in January.
Yesterday at the College was first year registration. There were 55 students, which is 15 less than there were suppose to be. And each student has to take 3 "studio exploration" classes from the available studios of Graphics, Fashion, Surface Design, Photo, Clay, Metals/Jewelry, and last (always) but not least, Fibre Arts, formerly known as Textiles. Before yesterday we had 4 students that had pre-registered, so our illustrious leader Linda, decided that we should set up a display so that people would know what we did. So that is what I did yesterday morning. Whipped the studio into shape and displayed all sorts of stuff. Spinning , weaving , yardage, felted fashion accesories as well as felted sculptures, baskets, both functional and conceptual, and colour colour colour! We also had Paula ( known as Pippi) and Jesse (our studio guy) there to talk to the new students and show that Fibre is not just for the females in the group. They are both second year students and did a great job as well as having some of their artwork out on display! They did a great job and really were helpful. Thanks guys!



Then we did the hard sell on the studio to the tours of new students who went through and we managed to boost our enrollment to 16, with 7 left to register. Not ideal, but at least the song and dance did it's work. Then in the afternoon, I did inventory which wasn't finished in the spring (Grrrrr). Inventory is second only to labeling slides as my least favorite tasks as Studio Tech. Then when I was done my work day, I had to go pick up the kids at my mom's where she informed me that she had left 3 boxes of cucumbers for me in my back shed. Home to eat a quick supper, then wash 600 pounds of cucumbers (slight exaggeration) and back to the college to take pictures for Linda and take everything down. Bought beer. Dropped Linda's piece off at her house, went to buy vinegar, then back home at which point I realize that I don't have enough snap lids so it's back to the store which is thankfully not very far away and back home yet again where Bill (bless him) has the big pot on the stove with water in it, cukes that need slicing, sliced and those that need spearing, speared. I had the kids peel the garlic earlier so that was all ready. Wash the jars and we are good to go. Which we did. 37 quarts +! I collapsed into bed at about 11:45 having sat down (driving time not included) about 45 minutes all day. Needless to say sleep came easily.

New normal

The "new normal" has begun. Well, come to think of it, it won't really start until next week when the kids go back to school. And then we will have to deal with the dreaded "HOMEWORK"! Mom (aka Mamoo) is watching the kids this week for me. We all love Mamoo. She will be watching wee Nicole in the afternoons too. As I said to her, this is probably the last grandchild that you will be able to spend a lot of time with. My elder sister, Aunt Nicole, has pretty much decided "no kids", not to mention, she lives in Scotland. Kind of hard to pop over for the afternoon. My younger sister and her husband live in the Ottawa area and aren't looking to procreate just yet. And both my brother and I, who live near my parents, are done. As in DONE! All the way done. No more grandkids from us. No way. No how. So it all works out for the best.

So what did I do at my first day back at work? Classes don't start until next week, so, thankfully there were no students to deal with. I say thankfully because I have done my fair share of organizing and cleaning around others and it is not fun. So that is what I did. I cleaned and organized. Students are pigs. Today, I get to do more cleaning and then go to two meetings. One is for the technicians and staff (as opposed to "faculty" which are the "teaching staff") The funny thing about this meeting is that it was organized because we, as "staff" don't get to go to "faculty" meetings. All I have to say is that I really wasn't missing them in the first place. The other is a Fibre Studio meeting and I am actually looking forward to this one because I will get to see a few people that I haven't seen in a few years. Like a reunion. Unfortunately, we will have to do some business but that's the price you have to pay.

And here is one for Mia.


Me in "my" tree. I am crouched down a bit so as to avoid the rather large spider web that is about three inches above my head. Unfortunately, this year she, the tree, not the spider, is mostly dead. It just doesn't feel the same. I don't thing that she will survive the winter. The tree will still be there until she rots away. That is what they do in O'Dell park. Let nature reclaim it's own. If a tree falls so that it blocking the path, they chop it up into manageable sized chunks and haul it off the path, or if one falls onto another tree and looks like it may, at some point, continue onto the head of some unsuspecting hiker, they knock it all the way down. But these trees don't become fodder for someone's stove or get turned into board feet or chip board. They act as tree nurseries. So even after she falls down in 5 or 10 years, the essence of this wonderful tree shall remain and will have grown into other trees. In fact it has already started, seeing as she lost two of her three large limbs a few years ago. And why, you ask, do I keep referring to a tree as "she"? It is because years ago, when she still had her limbs, if you stood at her back and looked up, what you saw looked like a being with it's arms spread wide and face up to worship the sun. I always fancied that this tree was a woman. Kind of nice when you realize that you could crawl into her "womb" and relax. I have a picture of the tree from the angle of which I speak, but it was taken, well, we'll say a few years ago, before digital cameras, and on slide film, and I still haven't figured out which slot to put it in on the computer. Someday, when I'm bored, I'll get it transferred into pixels and bits and share it with you.

In the mean time, I must get ready for day 2 of the pre-new normal.

new weavings

All silk (except the last which has a bit of rayon)
All hand dyed
All hand woven
All for sale
I have to go to market
Have a great day!

And now back to our regularly scheduled program...

Here we are. Summer is almost over. School supplies are bought. A few things have been pulled out of the garden. Nights, and days, are getting cooler. Where did the summer go? And before I forget, here is a "class picture" from my reunion the other night. I'm in the middle, next to Beth. I really wish that we lived closer together, but alas, it is not to be.












Another sad thing that happened yesterday is that the much revered Uncle Sandy left for home. Home being Victoria B.C. He will be missed by all, except perhaps by Wee Nicole, who has not yet caught the Uncle Sandy bug. That will be next year. The best way that I can describe his attraction for the kids is that he is a magnet and they are iron filling. They gravitate and stick to him. Here we are walking in O'Dell park. This is on one of the bridges that cross the few streams that flow down the park. On the top are the Three Billy Goats, and down bellow...... Two Troll. I know that there is only one in the story, but in my story, there are two.

I start work on Monday. So that will be the beginning of "the New Normal". I am not quite sure how it is going to turn out. Homework hassles, meal preparation, not to mention all of the other stuff that needs to get done on a daily basis is going to be difficult with me not here. I just hope that I can persuade the kids to pitch in a bit more that they have been. In any case, there is now someone on my lap who is demanding attention.




Stay tuned for some weaving content coming soon!

It's good to like your life

So here I am. I am just back from my 20th (shh) high school reunion and I am happy to say that I had not one moment of " oh, I wish that I had hooked up with.... Pick a name.

It was an informal affair. Thank God! Three years ago I could have fit in my prom dress. Today... Not so much. In any case. We had a blast. I saw my best friend from high school, Beth, this morning, and she was waiting for me when I arrived tonight. It was like we had never been apart. Damn, but it was fun! Her husband, Dale, is a sweetie and I totally endorse their continues relationship. But let's face it. After 15+ years. Who need me and my endorsement.

So in any case, after probably a few too many drinks, I wend my way home and one of the things that I truly appreciate about Bill is his love of good food.

So here I sit, with a pan of bruchetta in my lap and only me (oh well) to deal with it.

There was an "official photographer" to take our picture but how we will get a print....?????.... Who knows. If it ever comes, I will share it with you and you can all play "pick the Jackie".

For now, I apologies for not posting more often, but we are on and off on vacation and internet access is limited to when I make it back to town. Regularly scheduled programming is set to resume the final week of August. Until then, I'm either wallowing in the lake or picking stuff in the garden.

Happy Day

I've been tagged!

5 Things always in my purse
In summer, I carry a purse. In winter, my parka has huge pockets

1. Asthma puffer
2. Eppi pen
3. Wallet
4. Keys
5. Pen

5 things always in my wallet

1. Drivers license
2. Receipts
3. Medicare cards
4. blue cross cards
5. Library card

5 things always in my refrigerator
It's hard to keep things in the fridge ALL the time with 4 hungry kids, but we will say most of the time you can find these things,

1. Something hot, be it hot sauce, hot peppers, hot Indian pickles....the list goes on
2. Ketchup
3. Vegas of some description
4. Something to drink like milk, juice, water
5. Butter

5 things always in my closet

1. Part of my stash
2. Sheets and towels
3. Clothes
4. Hats
5. Spiders

5 things always in my car

1. Kleenex
2. Car seat
3. Jumper cables
4. Tire pressure gauge
5. Dirt

5 things always on my desk

1. Computer
2. Telephone
3. Pencils and pens
4. Paper
5. A toy of some description that Wee nikki-poo has brought in

as for people to tag

1. insert
2. your
3. name
4. here
5. if you want to play

Residency # 3

I'm back! We spent a week at the lake, which is about an hour north of Fredericton. No broadband there. Just dial up. And the internal modem thingy in the laptop I use is broken. But here I am, back (for the time being) and willing to let you in on a few changes.

Residency #3 is going well. Thanks to residency # 1 I have many dyed warps ready to go. I started yesterday and have woven off one full warp of three scarves. Unfortunately, due to mis-measurement, One of the scarves turned out a bit shorter than I would like. This will require a bit of rearrangement on the part of the length of the remaining scarves from my other dyed warps. The warps were all the same length.

We have changed locations too. I am now at the York-Sunbury Museum in downtown Fredericton. Traffic is much improved, although not as much as the FAA residency at the casemates. I actually enjoy talking to people, and I enjoy educating the public as to what goes into a hand-dyed, hand-woven scarf. A big part of the purpose of the residencies is to do a bit of public education, so that people don't experience sticker shock. I charge quite a bit for my products, although not as much as I would if I were in a larger urban centre, where people are more willing to pay larger amounts of handcrafted things. Fredericton is funny that way.

As for pictures....sorry. Maybe later. My kingdom for a camera!

We will be darting back and forth between home and cooler waters for the next few weeks, so I hope that I will be able to post more often.

Thanks for reading, and may a cool breeze find you. I know that I'm hoping for one!