self care

I realized yet again that I can be really crap at self care.  There are things I love to do that get put on the back burner.  There are things I need to do every day to control chronic pain and keep me walking.  I have to walk and move every day.  It makes me feel better.  While I do that, I need to look at what is around me.  I love the petals on this rose.

On my last adventure, it was observed that I love to take pictures.  I do not carry the big camera around with me when I am traveling.  If I have it with me, I never take it out of the car.  I use my phone.  It is like having a point and shoot with you all the time.

I was gifted with this attachement to my phone.  I find between the zoom capability of this lense and the DSLR features on the camera app on my phone, the pictures I take are as good as my large digital camera.  My camera is old enough that I could probably upgrade it but this works for me.  Especially since I do not shoot in film.  If I did, I would never have any pictures.

The other thing I need to remember to do for myself is spin.  It is restful.  And even though my spinning wheel sits out in the open, I have a tendency to head someplace else first.  More spinning and crocheting for me!

indulgence

Leaving Washington, there was lunch with friends and then the decision to go to Tolt Yarn and Wool.  I have read about this yarn shop online.  Seen some of the workshops they have to offer.  One of those that I always thought might not be the best place for my wallet for me to go.  But I did.

They have a Makers Market that has sounded interesting.  Not large.  Just a few makers, dozen makers, in a yarn store.  What could go wrong?!  I picked up some interesting insect prints that I am going to put over my work bench.  A white hand thrown cup that I have been using for tea, even though today it is for hot ginger.  A smaller version for simple pours.  Yarn.  

They did have makers of yarn there.  The two blue skiens above were from one of those makers, Spincycle.  I could not pass them up.  I was thinking hats.  Maybe for me?  Maybe for gifts?  Maybe for presents?  I will see.

Tolt Yarn and Wool definitely caters to knitters, not hookers.  There are so many ways you can make crochet sound bad!  One of the Spincycle ladies made the comment she never knows what hole to use because there are too many holes.  It just came out so badly!  I did find a knitting pattern called Baern that I should be able to convert to crochet.  I am using the Yoth yarn I found there.  It is the cream and green skeins in the top picture.  It is an indulgence because it is large part cashmere.  The sweater will so soft.  I personally love the feel of cashmere sweaters but I always wear them out.  I am hoping this will be different.  I can hope.

It was nice.  I may go back to Carnation, WA just to wander.  I wil definitely go back to Tolt but they are online.  I like small towns and I like to look into windows.  When someone says window shopping, that is my favorite type of shopping.  Just looking into the windows.  

I have put down the sewing needle at night and put up my crochet hook.  I am hoping to have a sweater soon even though it is above 90 degrees Fahrenheit most of the time.  If it works, I may order more of this Yoth yarn.  Or maybe I will see how the sweater wears.  Or maybe I will spin some more.  

mountain jam

So much about going to the mountain is maintenance.  My Beloved and I cleared the path to Canada (the end looks towards Canada) with the tractor and the clippers.  I am horrible!  If I think it is going to hit me in the head, it comes down!  Including any berries.  I clipped back huckleberries.

Since we have cleared out trees to make room for the possibilities of gardens, we are actually getting berries now.  Mountain berries crawl over things.  The seem to get no higher then knee high and have the tiniest blackberries on the brambles.  But the flavor so good!  I usually think blackberries need sugar because they are a bit tart.  I find the invasive Himalayan blackberries are tart like that.  Or store bought strawberries.  These are berries that make your teeth hurt because they are so sweet.

The blackberries were what was most ripe.  But there were also salmon berries, a few huckleberries, and a few thimble berries.  We picked for a couple three hours and came away with about 3 quarts of berries.  There was no way they would have travled well cross country.  The thimble berries and salmon berries all but crush in your fingers when they are ripe.  Even in the Yeti container I was picking into they would not have made it.  I made jam at my parents with the berries.

2 cups of washed picked clean berries to 1 cup sugar.  Bring to a simmer and let cook until a bit of juice slowly runs down a plate.  I take my finger nail through it and see if it stays where it is put.  If it does, the jam is done.  I

bought a sourdough French from one of the bakeries I like it Bellingham.  With butter, that just makes breakfast so good.  I had to make a loaf of French bread when I got home.  The only negative is that I am still not on the mountain.  I would be picking berries every day and making jam.  25 pounds of sugar back in my life.  But I have little bit of mountain with me until it is gone.  1 and 1/2 quarts of jam.  

And more memories of sunsets.

back from adventuring

Koda Bear is back with the Tall Short Person.  But at the very last minute, adventuring was decided upon.  Koda Bear really likes to sleep in tents.  So does my Beloved.  I found state parks to camp in across the southwest of the United States and the boyos could not have been more pleased.

Davis Mountain State park is one that I have wanted to visit in the past.  I want to go back now.  I would love to hang out for a week.  There was just not enough time.  The skies were so clear!  It is near the MacDonald observatory so I should not have been surprised.  

We were supposed to camp at Picacho State Park between Tuscon and Phoenix Arizona but 115 Fahrenheit was just too hot.  It was a hotel night.  But Stoney Creek Campground in Mount San Jacinto State Park south of Palm Springs California was lovely.  The elevations meant that it was cool.

I had time to finish a present between hikes.  

There were so many rocks for the Bear to climb on!  Places to run down hill because it is the best according to him.  He gets his energy from running down hill.  Most times he is pretending he is riding a motorbike so it is a lot of fun.

But Koda Bear and my Beloved could have their adventure of sleeping in tents.  Which was really what they wanted before Koda Bear landed back with the Tall Short Person.  It is lovely to watch.

hand sewing

This is the season where I seem to have a lot of birthdays.  Or maybe it is better said that I have birthdays where I wish to deliver more then a card or flowers.  Since what most of what I have been working on is gifts, I cannot show the pictures until the end products are delivered.

I also have this tendency to plan more then I have actual time for.  Especially when Koda Bear is about.  But that is life.  I will make sure all parts of the presents are delivered but it might take until Christmas!  Then I start this all over again.

I have been dealing with first world problems this last week.  The internet to the house went down and I figured out a way to get around that today.  But it is very much a first world problem because I could have gone to the library.  I do not like to leave the house most of the time and it would have felt like there were too many people about.  And since my ant bites, my lungs have felt very congested.  It makes every bit harder.

There has been a snap decision made and adventuring is going to happen.  Starting tomorrow!  There is usually more planning in my life but that is not the norm this summer.  Everything seems very spur of the moment.  It is a nice place to be actually.  To have the luxury.  

So . . .  off to the mountain we go.  Maybe I can thrift some wool threads to fix a sweater.  Boyos will be around but not me.  I am also planning on bring back fir branches to play with dye.  I might just have room in the vehicle on the way back.  Who knows though!