cats

This week the cats are a stand in for me. I have been sick with a cold for a week. I felt like Jake here, like a real Ragdoll, not good for anything but hanging out on the couch. This will not be a post about knitting or spinning or any other crafts. Not much to tell. I’ve knit on my cabled cardigan, but that will be for next week.

And here’s Frank (Asinsinatra) hanging out on the stairs. I’m always afraid he’ll fall asleep and fall between the steps, but hey, survival of the fittest we say in our house.

The week started out so good. On Friday we walked from our house to Huis Duinen, along the dike, along the Waddezee, with a stop for hot chocolate above the beach.

This past week has been the sunniest week in March EVER, and instead of going out and enjoying it, I spent it inside, coughing, sneezing and feeling sorry for myself. Over the week I did 4 home COVID tests and 1 official PCR test at the GGD. All negative. I kept testing because I kept feeling worse and then couldn’t smell cat poop. Today, a week after that photo was taken, I think I’m getting back to normal. Cat poop and all.

So, sorry about the lack of a craft post and I hope to be back next week with a FINISHED OBJECT! Won’t that be exciting. And the start of a new project (or 2). I hope you are enjoying some hints of Spring. The latest news in the world is terrible and scary. The natural world is a good place to look for peace. A walk in the woods, or a city park, can do wonders for my spirits. You too?

This photo shows you exactly where I am with my 4 ply 200g spinning project. Not as far as I’d hoped, but not bad considering all the things going on around here. The top 2 bobbins are done (50g each). The lower bobbin is almost done and the fiber on the left has to be spun. And then ply them together. The plying will be quick and easy. I love plying.

I’m very happy with the consistency of the singles I’m spinning. This is Corriedale fiber that I bought from World of Wool (in the UK). It’s lovely to spin. I find I can spin it very fine or thicker with ease. I highly recommend this fiber for beginners and advanced spinners alike, plus it comes in a huge range of colors.

Speaking of consistency, there seems to be a serious lack of consistency in my life! Change is the only constant, which is something my husband is not always happy about. He longs for more consistency, less change. I seem to attract change like a magnet.

One change is that we are now the proud parents of 2 great big 9 month old Ragdoll cats. Their previous owner couldn’t keep them and we jumped at the chance to bring them home. They are the biggest cats I’ve ever owned, and the fluffiest. It’s taken a little adjustment on all our parts but Jake and Frank are settling in well.

The biggest news is that I have a new job. I’m pretty excited about it. I didn’t realize how excited I would be about working again. As my husband said, “you aren’t the retiring kind”. I guess he’s right. I missed having extra money for fun things. I missed using my brain to work out problems. I missed colleagues (ok, only the good ones 😉 ). And then this job fell into my lap and I’ve grabbed it up. It’s only 3 days a week so I still have time for fun things too, like my craft projects and accordion playing. But, it’s a change and requires finding a new routine. I’m suddenly busy. I’m suddenly having to plan my days. The consistency of our household is going through a period of inconsistency and change until we find a new rhythm and a new consistency.

I will still keep up this once a week posting, and I hope to still have enough interesting things to show you. I still have big plans for Experimental Spinning. I might expand the blog topics to include not only what I’m working on, but places that I visit that are craft/design related. Writing this blog will be a consistent thing in an ever changing world. 🙂