Wallace is the toast of Texas

His new mom Bonnie has been having a great time tooling around in him. She reports:

Wallace is the hit of the island. There is a man from the UK who lives two doors away from us, and it almost brought tears to his eyes when he first saw it back out of our garage. He told us he drove a London Cab for years after acquiring "The Knowledge" . I volunteer at the seniors home in Galveston and last week spent two days taking many residents for rides around the island. The car has brought me countless hours of joy so far, and many , many more in the future.

I've also had three offers to purchase, which of course I immediately declined."

WooHoo! We're so happy he's being appropriately loved and enjoyed.
FYI, we have solidified our contacts in the UK and can import newer (late 90's) cabs in gorgeous condition, just out of London on their madatory retirement. The taxis that have been working in London proper are real plums because they have to undergo much stricter inspections & maintenance than other cars in the UK. They will last forever as your everyday car, since they are used to running nearly 24/7!

My ex-husband surfaces

Jon and I haven't talked since our divorce back in '98. We have found each other through the amazing technology of the internet, and I'm thrilled to report he's doing well. He's built his own red & chrome hardtail and even has a baby on the way! Yay!

Back to the Union Jack!

Matt and I are taking a quick jaunt to England. We spent our honeymoon in Edinburgh & London, so this time we are doing York, Bath, and the countryside. We bought a pristine cab with lots of extras (dual DVDs, remote entry, alarm, etc.) tentatively called Preston after Wendolene's mechanical dog. We'll drive him around England for a week and a half, then ship him to the East Coast for pickup after we move.

FalconCam!

Thanks to Tracy for reminding me about the FalconCam. There's an egg already! Last year I was immediately addicted and loved to keep a small window open in the corner of my screen. It's really astounding once they start growing.

Elizabeth Edwards

I got this letter today from John Edwards:

Dear Sharon,

Elizabeth and I are so grateful for your prayers and wishes. Your support means a great deal to us during this difficult time.

Yesterday we found out that Elizabeth's breast cancer is back, but confined mainly to her bones. Although this isn't the news we wanted to hear, we are very optimistic. Having been through many struggles together in the past, we know that the key is to keep your head up, keep moving and be strong. And that's exactly what we intend to do.

Elizabeth and I have been married for nearly 30 years and we will be in this every step of the way together. We will keep a positive attitude and always look for the silver lining—that's what we do.

Although the cancer is no longer curable, it is treatable, and many patients in similar circumstances have lived full, energetic lives. We expect nothing less for Elizabeth. She expects to do all the things next week that she did last week.

Our campaign goes on and it goes on strongly. We are so proud of the campaign we are running—a campaign based on ideas and reaching out to people. This campaign is not about me or Elizabeth—it's about all the people we have met these past few years and people like them all across America and the world—people worried about feeding and clothing their kids; people without health care; people facing hardships overseas.

Both of us are committed to this campaign. We're committed to this cause and we're committed to changing this country we love so much.

Thank you again for your support and for standing with us.

John Edwards


P.S.-- Many of you have asked how to contact our family and the campaign. You can click here to send us a note. Quite a few supporters and friends have already e-mailed and blogged such kind messages. Thank you so much.

A Rose cab by any other name...

... would still drive as sweet, but why not proclaim for all to see? Check out the girls in their fancy new togs.

300

Saw the bloody and melodramatic "300" yesterday. Visually, yes, it was fun. Once you get past the wrinkled and assymetrical latex on the chest & ab prosthetics in a few OOPS moments, it's terrific to see a film revel in muscle rather than the usual anorexic models.

Even so, this movie was a huge dissapointment for me. The story of this battle is so much more than an action flick. I highly recommend the book "Gates of Fire" by Stephen Pressfield, which tells the compelling history of the Spartan life and that event. George Clooney & Michael Mann have been trying to get the movie made for ages. Now it probably won't happen. Instead of a classic saga we are left with a ridiculous piece of eye candy. :(((((

Update: A poster (Jen) on Franklin's blog had this to say:
"Two words: War Rhino. The movie and men were lovely, but it was like watching a drama about the US Revolutionary War where King George is 8 feet tall and speaks with an echo effect. And all the British troops are orcs."

Lovely, lovely prezzies

I know my timing is poor (just past my birthday) but I've updated my Amazon wish list. Just FYI... :)

Rainbow Penguins?

My sister Mary in Galveston, TX tells me that on a recent visit to Moody Gardens "we queried a docents about 2 emperor penguins which were jealously guarding something behind a fence. She told us that they had an egg, but that both had been examined twice and are males so they can't figure out where they got the egg. However, as they are both claiming parental rights, the keepers are letting them keep it and are anticipating they will raise it together."

The Central Park Zoo had a famous gay penguin couple, Silo and Roy, who were together 6 years. The New York Times reported that the girl penguinlet raised by Silo & Roy is currenly shacked up with a chick...

Put your money where your mouth is!

Horrified by the quagmire in Iraq?

Frustrated by the healthcare situation?

Angry about corruption in government?

Quit complaining and DO something about it. Give as much as you'd spend taking your sweetie to the movies. or a dinner out. Give more, if you can. And if you've got the time, consider volunteering!

Cafe Press is Livin' Large!

CafePress now carries Plus sizes. Check out my top swag stores: Links are on the right.

The Jayne Hat

Here it is, done! I spun the yarn rustic - I'm very happy with it.
If you don't know what a Jayne hat is, run out immediately and buy or rent " Firefly."

Wild & Wooly Road Trip

Emma found a lady advertising cheap fleeces, and off we went. The farm was scary - every single tree lining the long driveway had a different sign on it. There was literally a broken-down trailer next to the house. I told her "If you hear banjos, RUN!"

The wool was unbelievably filthy, matted, and sunburnt. Most of the bags just needed to be thrown out. We did find one lovely silver grey mix. Dirty, of course, but not beyond saving. We bought the best of the bag, about 2.5lbs for $7, which we will send out to be processed.

We also saw some baby goats frolicking, and new lambs stared at us. They were so cute! I particularly wanted to steal this playful brown kid with speckled ears. Emma's writeup and photos beat me to the blogging punch, so go take a peek.

Creating the perfect space

I've been remiss in failing to blog my friend Sherry's project. She bought a chunk of land out in the middle of nowhere (and I mean nowhere - Yelm - an hour and a half drive from here, mostly on small roads) and is carving out her idealized farm. So far she's aded an inviting covered porch to the house, and put in a hot tub, greenhouse, fire circle, chicken coop, and of course a large garden. Much more work is coming, including conversion of an old chicken coop into a meditation space. She's even got a bunny! I'm so proud of her for identifying what she wants and making it happen. Go Sherry!

PS: Dad is doing better. Keep up the good work, everyone!

Hearts & tyres

Please send your healing thoughts & prayers to my Dad. He's having some cardiac trouble again. On a happier note, I'm playing with black and white: Here's Matt washing Wallace one last time before we deliver him to his new family.

As We Liked It

Maddie starred as Celia in Shakespeare's "As You Like It" last Friday. She was terrific - just another talent to add to her list. The performance was celebrated with chocolate truffle cake and ice cream (Gillie).

Complicated Mittens, anyone?

My friend Terri has just released her book Selbuvotter. I haven't seen it yet, but having experienced her expert help in the VY&T circle I went ahead and preordered. I HAVE seen the gloves and mittens that were her samples, and they are really remarkable! Next winter I'll be wearing them. :)

Boy, is my face red!

For two reasons... First, that box of unique glass buttons I bought at the Tucson show? The one I left at VY&T and had written off as lost? Found it! Apparently the elusive little bugger leapt out of my knitting bag sometime between coming home and my next knitting session. It was tucked under the edge of a bookcase. I wonder if a cat had anything to do with that?

I also have a bizzare facial rash that so far is a complete mystery to medical science. No new soaps, detergents, foods, etc. It's been a week now. The raised red blotches are all over my face and ears, but nowhere else. At first it was just ugly, but after two days of feeling like a bad sunburn (radiating heat, tight & itchy, tender to the touch) with pitting edema, we've resorted to steroids to kill the inflammation. This pic was taken 5 hours after the first dose, and the blotches are much reduced already. BTW, for you science-y types, the anti-SM, VDLR, ESR, WBC, ASA, RF and ANA levels were normal, so no RA or Lupus.

Great news: Wallace has been adopted by a nice (medical!) couple in Texas. Good thing he's got A/C!

Recruitment complete

Emma, my newest spinning protege, just scored a sweet Ashford Traveller. Matt chauffered us on our trek down to Spanaway, braving rain, snow, and yes, HAIL! On the way back, Lady Totty's handicapped / wheelchair seatbelt came in handy, and some roving provided padding. Yippee!

Moving in May

Matt's residency starts June 11th. We will be relocating earlier than expected, in mid to late May. We're sorry to be leaving our family & friends here, but excited about getting started on the next stage of our lives.

Welcome home, Lady Tottington!

In keeping with our tradition of naming cars after Wallace & Gromit characters, our newest bundle of joy bears the moniker of the flame-haired Lady Tottington. We felt a landed title was important for her as she is an "FX4S Plus" model. Come by and take a ride!

Secret Pal Part II

Here's the amazing yarn my Secret Spinning Pal made me. She really went all out: Thick & thin home-dyed Merino, plyed with mohair, and studded with felted & beaded flowers. I'm going to weave it into a blanket for the back on my taxi. She included some fun surprises wound inside. I loved that idea so much I stole it for my downstream Secret Pal. I'll post what I made for her after the mailman delivers.

Here's a felted lunch bag-style purse I made, sans pattern. The straps are actually one long felted loop. They can come up both sides, as a short shoulder bag, or I can snug it up into one long across-the-body strap. It's lined in red muslin and has a nifty internal pocket.

Happy Valentine's Day! aka Ode to my Husband

This embracing couple was found in Italy, and are 5-6,000 years old.

I know just how she feels: I'll hold on to my Matt for eons! I am so lucky to have a husband who supports me and challenges me, while giving me absolute freedom to be myself. We have so much fun together... even when we are killing time waiting for a tow truck he makes me laugh so hard I nearly soil my pants. Our life is awfully good.

When we didn't know if we were going to Match, there was a possibility we would Scramble into someplace horrid, but we realized much of our happiness lies inside the walls of our strange little apartment. We can duplicate that anywhere.

Matt just sent me a text message: "Happy Valentine's Day, my love, you made my life crazy magic."

A word of advice to the still single: Hold out for the real thing. It's worth it! I'm so glad I didn't settle for any of those romances that made me happy, but not blissful.

Drumroll please....

And the winner is.... PHILLY! Matt got matched with St. Joe's, so that's where we'll be! It's a great academic fit. We are pleased. :)

Sparkly Sisters

January had two more attacks in store for us: Matt's computer CD/DVD drive went belly up, and I have a hairline fracture in my right foot from all my walking. Geez, how's a girl supposed to get in shape?

On a happier note, we visited the Rose clan for the Tucson fossil & gem Show. This is a monster gathering of jewelery and mineral wholesalers, plus the world's best palentologists. Every hotel room in the city is a different vendor, and you see specimens that rival or exceed anything in museums.

More importantly, I got some real quality time with my new(er) family. His parents have taken me in, and Matt's sisters are now mine, too. I feel undescribably warm and happy having sisters again (for those who don't know, my only sibling, Jill, died at 16). Matt is with Nancy The Lobster Provider, and of course that's Mom and me. Mary was also there, and Nadine, who is technically a cousin but has been adopted in.

My best shiny finds at the show: An ammonite bracelet and citrine ring, courtesy of Mom's generosity, and a scrimshaw pin from their personal collection. The ruby zoisite wand was a prezzie from Nancy.

An astute long-distance reader noticed the lack of hair on my neck in the last post. It's true, my hair is the shortest it's ever been. I did it at Matt's request and he loves it. So do I, although I'm still experimenting with different styling. It poofs up into a wild punk-rock look.

SCA = Swords, Costumes, and Action!

Tammy & new friend Cody took us to a Society for Creative Anachronism event. The hat in the foreground of the first pic caught my attention, so when we got home Matt made me one. I sure have the right husband! The felt came from the leftovers of the "Christmas Crafts" with the girls, and the fur is recycled from an old hat.

Anne of Green Cables

Okay, so there's not really an Anne featured in this post. But there are green cables, oh yes! The hoodie scarf started like this, but I made a few modifications, as usual. I eliminated the visor, added a ribbed edge at the nape, and decreased the cables into a point. Thanks to Ginger for suggesting the tassles. I think I did some other stuff differently, too, but I can't remember (I was working on this during the Philly trip). Then I made some matching mittens, trying them on and winging it as I went. When I was done I realized the right one has a stumpy thumb... just like mine, courtesy of a run-in with the door of a '71 Plymouth Fury. That's what you call personalized!

International Internet SCAMBUSTERS!! (Attempted)

We've been advertising Wallace for sale on some antique car sites, as well as Craigslist. I got an email from a Don Mcwen asking the lowest price I'd take. I told him $25K and he was agreeable. "Give me your account number and I'll wire the money too you." Uh, no. But he was welcome to mail me a cashiers check. He could purchase Wallace outright, or $2000 would hold him for 10 days.

A few days later I received a UPS envelope with a check from a hotel in Maryland, for $4500. I called the number on the check and confirmed my suspicions. The owner of the inn said I was the second call that day. She had been on the phone to the bank already. The other recipient had been selling a $3000 car but was sent a faux check for $5K. I assume part two was to ask her to send the difference.

A Mercer Island cop came over to collect the evidence. He connected me with a detective in the fraud division, and we tried to set up a sting. I invited "Don" (English was obviously his second language) to come see the car. If he liked it, great, and if not, I would refund his $4500. I hoped a free car and a handful of cash would be enough inducement for him to show up.

He agreed to send his "shipper and lawyer" with another check for the remainder. Detective Wheeler started putting a team together. I was aquiver with excitement - how fun it would be to catch a rat in a trap of his own making!

He wasn't quite as dumb or greedy as I'd hoped, unfortunately. He asked me to wire the $2000 to the shipper "for travel expenses" so she could come collect the car, and she would deliver a check for the rest.

The police agreed with me that drawing him out wasn't going to happen. One time a scammer had sent a cabbie to get a check, but they'd never been able to grab anyone who was involved.

I got a second email urging me to Western Union the money to the shipper. I wrote back "Nice try. I'm not that stupid."

Keep on your toes, guys, and let's be careful out there.

Secrets Revealed!

Riin has gotten her Spinning Swap package, so I can show you the yarn now. It's Merino, Kool-Aid dyed with Cherry and Grape (the blue came from popping roving into the pot after most of the red had been absorbed by the purple), spun superskinny, then Navajo plyed. I sent it along with some human and bunny treats, and a tube for her DPNs.

As far as the Big News I thought was coming, nope. We won't know where we're going until Feb 12th.

Madrona & Recruiting

Big news coming soon... until then, amuse yourself with this: The ball is the yarn I got from my Not-So-Secret Spin-to-Knit Pal. It's fluffy hand-dyed merino plyed with 2 strands of mohair. Yum! There was a lot more but it's now Maddie's scarf.
I can't post what I spun yet because I haven't heard from my recipient and don't want to spoil the surprise.

Madrona was very small but cute. As usual, towers of temptation everywhere. One surprise: The largest roving tube I've ever seen. Was very hard not to dive in! Afterwards, Emma and I hit Weaving Works, picked up some roving, and came back to my place. I taught her to spin, and just look at how gorgeous her first mini-skein is! Turquoise plyed with eggplant. Scrumptious!

Hee hee! She's so hooked... Already talking about buying a wheel. I should start cutting notches on my flyer for each novice I've corrupted.

Dust Bunny has crossed the Rainbow Bridge

Karen informs me that Dust Bunny has succumbed to cancer. She's been offered an Angora baby from a friend's recent litter (aren't they cute?) and hopes that by the time they are ready for a new home she'll be ready to adopt.