Wednesday, May 30, 2007

To answer your email questions:

School isn't happening this year. We didn't match with Matt's hospital until March, so I missed the deadlines. Will reapply for 2008. I'll get a job doing acupuncture at a doc's office.

I LOVE the new house. Nesting like a maniac. :) PA is green and gorgeous and the people are megafriendly. The city of Philly has roads worthy of the Dark Ages but some damn good cheesesteaks. It's fun going in but I am SO glad we decided to live rural.

Fig finally remembered he's a Coon Cat and not a Coon Cowerer. He's back to normal instead of acting like a psychotic PTSD Vietnam vet. Blackberry loves the porch, where she can lord over the local rabble (rabbits). We have at least 16 legs in the bed every night and everyone's happy.

Craigslist has been a goldmine of cheap / free furniture. My art room has 4 new matching Ikea pieces, for which I paid a total of $40. Great oak table & chairs (Yes! We have a table to eat on now!) for $50. My parents are visiting Fri-Sun so I am determined to have the house at least superficially finished by then. That means pics by Fri! :)

The only bad news has been the movers. They damaged all sorts of stuff and LOST a huge Rubbermaid tub containing my best roving. All of my alpaca, llama, merino, and even some silk hankies. Nothing irreplacable, of course, but I had hunted this stuff down and you all know what a notorious cheapskate I am. I really mourn for the black teenage alpaca - I had enough to make a cardigan and was working on a design.

Oh well - the important bit is that we are all safe and happy. And Fig is shedding enough to replace the bin of roving, anyway.

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Rain & Thunder & Lightning

This afternoon we went to a potluck and a geocache hike on a gorgeous wooded path. We had a massive storm tonight, which we shared with a new friend (Alia) on our screened-in porch. In the past week we've seen both deer and rabbits in our back yard. We even saw a beaver today on the side of the road, just hanging out. I'm liking Pennsylvania a lot more than I expected!

Sorry about the lack of pics. I want to get the house settled first, and that should happen pretty soon. Be patient!

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Movers just left

Needed: Lawyer
Broken: glass table, lamp, bookcase, angel statue
Scratched: leather couch
Missing: Screws to TV stand, desk, and bed

Having them out of my house: Priceless

Monday, May 21, 2007

Home, Sweet Home

We're here! It's sooooo good to be in a house. Our house. I'm nesting like crazy and we've only been here a few hours. The fur-kids are extremely happy. The front bay window has a foot-deep sill just designed for cats. Blackberry has claimed a corner of the porch and settled in solidly.

The only snag: The movers (rhymes with Mationwide) quoted us about $3500 to move our stuff. They called me today and said they'd be here tomorrow. But the cost has magically increased to $6800 and I have to pay cash. No credit cards. Like anybody actually has that kind of liquid assets at their fingertips!

We'll be calling a lawyer first thing in the morning.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Pennsylvania

Just over the border into our new home state. No speeding tix today. Iowa drivers were doing 40 in the left lane, making us crazy. Then a transport ambulance (lights, no siren) paved the way for 100+ miles at about 85 (speed limit 75). Woo hoo!

Peachy now has Front of Car priviledges, as long as he stays in my lap.

Saturday, May 19, 2007

The Scary Farm



Remember that trip with Emma on March 11?

Here is the before - basically a bag of sheep $#!@ - and the after. Dawn's Custom carding made a gorgeous silk purse out of that sow's ear. Impressive!

Gillette, Wyoming

Here safe and sound. Cattle running around loose in the back of the car. Bunny continues to rule the world.

Montana is awesome. Matt got clocked at 93 and the ticket was $40. He almost said "Sweet!" to the cop. I got nailed an hour later doing 75 (both in 65 zones). Penalty was $20. They are our first tickets in 7 & 8 years. Can you tell we are in a hurry to get to our new home?

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Travelcats at Moses Lake, WA

It's our first night on the road. Peachy (partially blind, toothless, declawed & arthritic) is the standout explorer. He was doing his patented Cutest Otter on the Planet pose in the carrier within an hour. Now he's gleefully climbing all over the hotel room, rubbing his face on all the edges. Blackberry has her own little kingdom in the bathroom, since I didn't want to have trouble catching her in the morning. She seems perfectly happy. Meanwhile Fig, our ultra-dangerous Maine Coon, is shaking with terror under the bed!

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Ha! And you thought I was just goofing off!

For you few skeptics who think my fiber art is "a waste of time" (and yes, that is a direct quote, sadly enough): read this!

Saturday, May 12, 2007

A Great Day




My morning started with Senator John Edwards' conference call. He's lauched a new site to reclaim peace as patriotic.

Then I joined birthday girls Emma & Terri, along with Ginger and Annie, for High Tea at VY&T. We were visited at various points by other wonderful friends, but I am a terrible person so I can't remember all their names. I do recall Tamara, who will apparently be taking my place in the Saturday circle. Terri modeled her newly finished sweater. Emma brought my pound of "mystery mixed breed" roving which had still been pink when I left her place yesterday. She transformed it into the reds I had been trying for. There's a reason people buy her stuff! Bonus: I was magically able to acquire some of that "über-fantastic" SeaSilk.

Alex and Sonja grabbed me and took me to the Everest Kitchen. That's some seriously good food. Then Deb joined us (she writes the blog for VY&T, which contains movie as well as fiber content) and we went to see "28 Weeks Later". Quite the adrenalin surge!

All in all, a really good day. Much better than packing and cleaning. :)

Friday, May 11, 2007

A Good Day to Dye





Emma and I spent the afternoon turning white stuff into a vibrant rainbows. Her handpainted roving is in such demand that she's having trouble keeping DragonFibers stocked! The bronze & gold silk looks better in person. The sunset colors are also silk. The blues are Merino, and the green is my Shabbit. Not too bad for my first attempt at multcolor dyeing!

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Fourscore and seven years ago...






After finding our house, we drove down to Gettysburg. The battlefield sprawls across acres of grassy hills. It's hard to imagine this peaceful farmland as the site of three days of the worst butchery on American soil. We recommenddriving yourself with an audio tour. Matt's favorite part was recreating the famous Devil's Den photo. Fellow female tourists enjoyed the combination of the wind and his kilt.

Saturday, May 05, 2007

Our new nest




I'm writing this from Pennsylvania. Matt & I found our house today. We are still renting but at least it feels like a real grown-up home.

It's a cute little bricky thing, with a huge back yard, a screened-in porch (the cats are going to love it!), a spare bedroom for visitors (YOU!!), and we even have dogwoods and azaleas in the front! It's out in the boonies in a quiet green neighborhood, but only a 30 min commute to Matt's hospital. It's close to the rail that can take me into the city, too.

Yay!!

Thursday, May 03, 2007

End the war!


Support our troops by getting them home safely. Let Bush know he can't run the world for his own financial ends.

Pic: Army Spec. Danielle Green, 27, a former Notre Dame basketball star, holds her amputated arm June 30, 2004, at the Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Green lost her arm and sustained a serious leg injury during a RPG attack May 25 in Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo/ Matt Houston)

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

FalconCam update


The falcons have hatched! Now the fun begins: Momma and Daddy bring meals back for them. Snakes, etc. Right now they're just fluffballs, but you won't believe how fast they grow!