New Year's Resolutions

I have been woefully neglectful of this blog in 2009, and I resolve to have at least one post per month for 2010. I think I can manage that no matter how crazy life gets.

So I started this project last night, which was really not thinking on my part because I'm going to need a projetc for the Ravelympics* Team Suck-Less. Maybe I can swing buying some Spunky Eclectic roving for the purpose, but I'm either going to have to be tethered to the wheel - not a horrible thing mind you but since Sean has appropriated my spinning chair, not a lot gets done when he's home. The other alternative is to use a different spindle. So I might go with the latter option. I have a turkish spindle that I really love but can't seem to get it to do what I want it to do, so perhaps mastery of the turkish spindle might be a good ravelympics challenge. Hmmm....

*Those of you who can't follow Ravelry links - Ravelympics is a challenge, where during the course of the olympics (Feb 12-28) you have to complete a project from start to finish, you can't start until opening ceremonies, and you have to be completed by the end. I have joined Team Suck-Less which is Abby Franquemont's team, and the goal for thos team is not necessarily to hav a completed pair of socks or a sweater or something, but to look into an area of your spinning that needs improvement, and practice that for the duration. During the Tour De France some members of Team Suck-Less challenged themselves to spinning a mile a day - I don't think I'm ready for that - well I could be, but I have a life that intervenes and I'm not sure I could meet that challenge without undue neglect to my family, my job, and oher responsibilities. So I'm going to keep my challenge on the DL to something more doable. I'll let you all know when I decide what exactly I'm going to do.

Tomorrow's post about my new project for this winter.

My House

Some people have expressed an interest in my house - I don't understand why, but anyway, here's some pictures for you. This is my house in 1931.
This next picture is me and my 11 year old painting the house last fall.

This bit of loveliness is my mantle (pardon the blurriness). It's all that's left from the great keeping room hearth. When the house was turned into a post office they went modern and took out the old chimney and replaced it with a new one - bad mistake, the floor sags toward the chimney now because the original one was what actually supported the interior of the structure, but the new one is free standing and the new posts they put in have shrunken or sank or whatever, so it's useless. They bricked up the fireplace as well and put in outlets for stove pipe in all the old fireplaces. (Yes I made the quilt, Yes that's Moxie on the mantle - this is New England after all). This picture is a prime example of the rubble stone walls in my basement. This is another bit of stupidity on the part of the previous owners...there was a bulkhead here, which they filled in, so we have no way to get into or out of the basement except by the door in my living room. I think they may have done this in a vain attempt to keep water from coming in - it didn't work, the water rises from the floor.

I appologize for the crappy photo quality - my battery was almost dead and I wanted to snap the pictures quickly - this one's blury too. Anyway, here's a lovely tree post. It appears to be cedar. It has shrunk in the years it's been holding up the floor ablove and so it's married with another post now. (that's our old furnace in the background - we can't get it out because we no longer have a bulkhead - I suppose we could dismantle it and cart it out that way, but it's really not important enough for all the work that entails).

So you see, the house is OLD, it looks OLD, and just 'cause it's old doesn't mean it's pretty.