Uncategorized – Page 5 – Spinning Romance

Made with Love

When I shared the above picture of the scarves I wove to take to my family reunion in May, a friend suggested I should take them to Kentuck – an annual artisans’ fair each October held here – except for last year but they’re back on track now. She’s not the first person to tell me I could sell my handmade creations – whether it’s woven scarves, lacy baby blankets, cardigans and sweaters made from yarn I spun, shawls, lapghans, warm woolen socks, or dishcloths.

I keep busy creating beautiful things just for the people I love. There is something extremely satisfying about spinning yarn for a cardigan in the perfect shade of green to match my friend’s eyes or creating purple yarn my sister would love a sweater made from or crocheting a baby’s layette for a friend’s first grandchild. Half the joy of the creative process is knowing specifically who you are making something special for. The double bonus is that while I’m in full blown creation mode it stimulates characters and plot lines and dialogue that I’ll soon put to paper.

I have made things for people I’ve never met. Soft caps for preemie babies. Larger caps for chemo patients or the homeless. Pocket shawls and lapghans for shut ins. But I passed love into every stitch knowing it would be felt by the people who received those soft, comforting donations.

Somehow, I don’t think I would feel the same about rushing to produce things to be sold at a fair or a craft marketplace to people I don’t know. Of course, time is a factor too. I’ve been blessed with a large extended family – blood and in-laws – and many cherished friends. They keep my spinning wheel whirring, my loom beating, my knitting needles clicking and my crochet hooks in perpetual motion. And ideas flowing into pages of novels I hope to one day publish.

For now, I’ll continue to focus on things I make with love. Wishing you a day filled with love that wraps you in happiness. Enjoy!

P.S. if you haven’t received your wearable love from me yet, don’t dismay. I’m sure you’re on the list to receive something when you least expect it!

Out Of Town Guests

We haven’t had out of town company since January 2020. And I have a husband who prefers a comfortable, lived in home to a sterile, pristine one. His attitude is usually a blessing since it gives me more time to write, spin, weave, knit, and crochet. But when it’s been so long between visitors – it’s a short step from comfortable, lived in to cluttered and in serious need of dusting! My nephew’s planned visit with his family reluctantly launched me into full cleaning mania. Plus baby proofing for their sixteen month toddler and putting curiosities out of reach of their curious all boy six year old. The oldest daughter who graduated high school this year didn’t need anything special…other than a place to sit that wasn’t piled with something!

First, we had to remove the clutter to get to the dirt. One day was devoted to hauling recycling to the bins; books and magazine to the library used bookstore; and clothing and household stuff to the local charity resale shop. It took two trips to take it all.

Then the cleaning could commence – upstairs and downstairs – since the trains were sure to be a “must see”. So for a week we dusted, vacuumed, put out Damp Rid, put up pretties out of reach, and rearranged our living space. At our age, these things must be done incrementally with lots of breaks. If Jim hadn’t been doing more than his share – I never would have finished on time.

Then they arrived, a little subdued from traveling two days to get to us for a short stay before continuing to the Gulf. They stayed at a nearby hotel and I didn’t cook. That helped a lot. The first night we had Dreamland ribs for dinner which the six year old said were the “best ribs in the world” – echoing what his Dad had been telling him all the way down. We had a lovely evening visiting and exploring the depths of the toy basket.

Of course, I missed dusting a little wagon of blocks. My little great niece found it and brought me gifts of dust bunnies she picked out of the bottom of the wagon until my sweet husband cleaned the blocks and wagon for her. She was quite enamored of her great uncle – following him, sitting in his lap, and wondering where he was when he left the room.

They brought us lovely hostess gifts including a special cream liqueur made from the marula fruit. Elephants seek out the fruit when it ferments because it makes them drunk. It’s fruity and smooth.

On Saturday we went to the Children’s Hands On Museum and explored all three floors that were pronounced to be “way fun”. Then we went to the Transportation Museum to see their special exhibit titled Bugs. There were only eight bugs. They were dead. There weren’t any spiders. I had to agree with my great nephew’s entertainment assessment, it was “boring”.

After leftover ribs for lunch while the baby napped at the hotel with her mom, we played Pigmania and Hungry, Hungry Hippos. Good thing no one was trying to nap in our house with pigs flying and hippo food leaping off the table and rolling under kitchen shelves. When the nap was over, the toy basket came back out and a jigsaw puzzle was started by my oldest niece. Funny, she didn’t want to miss the beach just to finish it. The decibel level dropped a little. We hit the neighborhood Mexican restaurant for a delicious dinner.

Before they got on the road, we went to the Brunch Buffett which my great nephew declared was “the goodest restaurant because you just go get what you want and you don’t have to wait.” They got on the road to the Gulf a little before noon.

We went home to a quiet house and began “finding” where we had put all the breakables and too tempting pretties. Everything is not back in its original home yet. Preparing for visitors was a lot of work, but it was so nice to have this return to normal – to actually have people stop to visit while they’re traveling on vacation – how perfectly marvelous!

But just when you begin to believe that Normal really exists…. That we might experience it again in our lifetimes – all the grocery store staff had on masks – vaccinated or not – this morning. Not a good thing. There is no going back. We can’t give our freedoms up again. We have to exercise personal choice without masks, mandates, restrictions or government interventions.

Normal is trying to come back home. Let’s welcome it like family – with open arms!

Drive South

After a carefully monitoring the weather forecast, we took Suzy Bogguss’ advice to “Drive South”. Accompanied by Jimmy Buffett’s beach tunes, we escaped for a couple of days – just the two of us – no family – no friends – just the two of us on a delayed anniversary celebration. It had been two years since we’d been adventuring alone and we were anxious to see how much had changed during the last dreary months of pandemic insanity.

There are lots of routes to take to the Gulf of Mexico from our house. They all get you there in about the same about of time. Your choice is what do you want to see along the way and how much traffic do you want to battle. We chose scenic and less traveled.

A lot looks the same as it has for the thirty years since we made the first drive south.

Catfish ponds ringed by long legged, sharp billed snowy egrets wading into the water ready to pounce on an unaware catfish skimming the bottom of the pond. There are so many birds, you have to wonder if there are any fish left to harvest.
Cattle resting under shade trees trying to stay cool at ten o’clock in the morning.
Script A’s on crimson flags and rolled hay bales noting Bama’s National Championships. This is definitely Crimson Tide country. We traveled this way the morning after the Alabama – Auburn game one year and some enterprising farmer had already painted Bama’s winning score on the side of his barn before we went by early the next morning.
Massive oak trees that have survived scores of Alabama storms still grace the yards of Greensboro’s beautiful columned mansions.
Trailers parked alone on a small plot of land or in little communities of like abodes. But, I think this is the first time I didn’t see a single battle flag defiantly showing its stars and bars.
Little country churches freshly painted and thriving with silk Memorial Day bouquets providing a riot of color in the marble gardens where past congregants rest their mortal remains. Some, not so blessed, have the woods and weeds creeping closer to cover them – their congregations gone and cemeteries abandoned. The preacher at one small town church showed his sense of humor – the message board out in front said, “Even mosquitoes know there is power in the Blood.”
Log trucks piled high with straight pine trees stripped of their needles speed down one hill to chug up the next – shedding bark and branches as they go while you play “Name That Road Debris”.
Everything in bloom. Mimosas bursting with their yellowish pink fuzzy flowers. Dinner plate sized blooms filling the spaces between the green waxy flowers of the magnolias. Orange and black lilies that my mother-in-law called ditch lilies growing wild along the roadside. Crepe myrtles proudly displaying their deep pink blooms.
And oceans of trees. Pines growing so tall they almost meet overhead forming a deep, green tunnel. Shrubs of every variety. And kudzu covering every living thing with its green leafy vines until it is all you see for acres and acres. My husband says this land isn’t doing anything but “holding the world together.”

It was comforting that so much was the same, but the differences we’re a little disturbing.

Cell towers litter the landscape. Everywhere. How can anyone be wireless deprived? They sure aren’t anywhere near where we were.

In small towns the fast food restaurants we’re open for drive thru and inside ordering, but no inside dining. It takes more people to clean up after inside diners and employers are having trouble finding reliable employees willing to give up their government checks for pay checks. The first morning we went to breakfast at the hotel, only two of the scheduled five people showed up for work. I’m worried this trend may be here to stay.

Gulf Shores has always attracted families to its white sand beaches – frequently with three generations vacationing together. That is still true but everyone from Grandma on down have cell phones in hand. I understand you want to take pictures of what those cute kids of yours are doing – we had fun watching their antics too. But most of the time they aren’t snapping pics, just mesmerized by the screens or texting. Missing all the fun and beauty around them. It’s hard to imagine what message is coming in from the Mother Ship – is it time for the invasion? You know sightings of UFOs are increasing. Think about it.

All in all it was a lovely drive south. The stay was relaxing. We even found a new fine dining spot tucked away in a neighborhood away from the beach.

The morning we checked out, a storm was brewing off the coast. We were up early to see the sunrise and were rewarded with a rainbow laced through the storm clouds. The picture doesn’t do it justice, but here it is:

I hope you find a rainbow inside any dark clouds you encounter. (And I hope you’re looking up from your phone long enough to catch it!) Enjoy!!!

Happiness is a Hug!

The old song says that love makes the world go round. That is true but it is a hug that proves you’re truly loved! During the pandemic, I didn’t see alot of the huggers in my life. When I finally got to start seeing family and friends again, the hugs felt so good they brought tears to my eyes.

This past weekend I got caught up on some of my family hugs at the reunion for my dad’s side of the family that’s held on my grandparent’s former farm which is now a winery.

I hadn’t seen most of my siblings since January 2020 – some even longer ago than that. This reunion was more sparsely attended by my immediate family due to graduations, car problems, moving adventures, illnesses and the closed Canadian border. But three of my sisters, several nieces, nephews, in laws and greats were there for the fun. With my dad’s three remaining siblings – two uncles and an aunt – and a plethora of cousins of all ages – there were 53 of us. Not bad for the first post pandemic reunion.

Laughter rang through the winery and across the fields of lush green grapevines in the vineyard. There was so much food – we could have catered four more reunions! The day sparkled with abundant sunshine after several days of cold and dreary skies. There was wine tasting. Lots of conversation. And, best of all, hugs, hugs and more hugs.

My almost eight year old great niece, Annabell, volunteered to be the activity director for the kids and she did a marvelous job, ably assisted by her Nana and Grampy. There were egg and spoon races. Freeze tag. Marco Polo. Sack races. And little cousins who had never met teamed up holding hands for the three legged race. They looked like it was a blast. It was even great fun to sit watching from a shaded picnic table under the tent. My aunt shared her tips on how to succeed at corn hole and took on all challengers! I reconnected with a much younger cousin I haven’t seen since she was a baby. She loves all things fiber related as much as I do!

When the weekend wound down, there was one more round of hugs to seal the memories in to enjoy until the next time! You can never get too many hugs!

Wishing you lots of huggable adventures! Enjoy!

The Sweet Smell of Summer

I know it isn’t Memorial Day yet – the official start of Summer – but it smells like it at my house. This gorgeous gardenia bush next to my mailbox is teeming with velvety pristine white blooms exuding its sweet, exotic fragrance.

As soon as I walk out the front door, the fragrance wafts through the air gently tickling my nose. Seeing the blooming bush makes me smile when I pick up the mail – regardless what is in the box.

The scent of gardenias is a sure sign of Summer in Alabama. It cheers me up. And it makes me think of my sister, Lori, who had gardenias in her bridal bouquet despite the florist’s best effort to try and talk her out of it. As her matron of honor, I was standing close enough to smell her bouquet when she said her “I do’s” twenty four years ago next Monday. That makes me smile too!

Wishing you all a summer of sweet scents and sweeter memories in the making as we all learn how to function like real people once again! Enjoy!

Merry Mayday

We had been in isolation for fourteen months not venturing outside of our immediate environs. I was giddy with excitement. Fully vaccinated with numbers constantly improving we were going to travel. Since we didn’t get to have Christmas with my husband’s family, we were going to have a May day picnic as a delayed celebration.

First, to pack. We couldn’t find the night light we travel with until we got the suitcases. There it was patiently waiting for us to be freed. We left it in the overnight case the last time we travelled so we wouldn’t forget it the next time. Then we forgot that! It had been soooooo looooooong!

I was certain when we reached the county line we would hit a force field that would bounce us back home again – like Jim Carrey’s character did in “The Truman Show” movie. We held hands and successfully zipped across the county line. Then state lines were crossed into Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, and finally, Illinois. It was a rush to be driving over fifty miles per hour while negotiating hills and curves and curves on hills. We’d almost forgotten how to drive on a highway. I even had to pass an Amish couple in their buggy. After the past 431 days in exile, it was very exciting!

I was concerned about going to a more locked down state. We have been mask-free since April 9th. My husband even wrote new lyrics to the tune of “Born Free” in honor of the emancipation. Once you’re vaccinated, losing the masks is the next step to normalcy – one we are eagerly taking! We did wear masks in the Kroger in Illinois to comply with the posted request. Our niece is the store manager and we wanted to keep her out of trouble!

My sister in law, her husband, and my brother in law hadn’t eaten in a restaurant yet even though they had opened, but they did with us. Two nights in a row. And my sister in law and I visited the alpaca ranch where my loom came from. I got to share some of my creations with them and of course, buy a little fiber for future spinning!

Saturday was the main event. The Christmas in May picnic in the park!

As you can see, it was a made to order day. Blue skies. Light breeze to flutter the tablecloths but keep the bugs away. Seventy five degrees. We had twenty-nine relatives from the immediate area in attendance. They hadn’t gotten together during the pandemic so it was nice for them to see one another too! We feasted on fried chicken and ham with all kinds of salads, devilled eggs, baked beans, and desserts galore! It was wonderful fun! The kids ran and played as all four generations of the family enjoyed the delayed celebration. Our nephew in law wanted to sing Christmas carols, but we refrained from that!

Later that afternoon we got to witness our great nephew go to his senior prom with a lovely date – but not until he had driven his dirt bike on the jump course in his back yard while wearing his tuxedo! Any girl who would tolerate that has to be a keeper! Luckily, the jump was successfully completed without incident and they were able to leave on time for their prom.

It was a jam packed two and a half days. We got up super early Sunday morning to beat the predicted bad weather. We ordered a pizza after unpacking, ate and then hit the hay! We were so exhausted we both slept over twelve hours. We didn’t realized we’d had a phone call just after going to bed until we saw the answering machine flashing light the next morning. I guess we were exhausted and out of practice!

Here’s wishing your “normal” becomes reality soon. Enjoy!

Hope Springs Forward

As we pass the one year anniversary of the great pandemic beginning, I feel a little hopeful. That’s fostered by the beginning of Spring. In our front yard one of our Bradford pear trees is in full bloom and the the other not far behind it. There is at least one of these beautiful trees in each yard on our street.

Our daffodils are much shyer about blooming this year than in years past but there are a few yellow heads popping up out in our woods. They always make me smile.

The weather is moving into that sweet spot after the winter’s damp and cold but before the blazing heat of summer and especially before the blizzard of pine pollen that springtime coats our deck with. It is perfect to sit out on the deck in the afternoon sunshine and do our crossword puzzles. The time change tomorrow means they’ll be longer afternoon sunshine.

And I got these in the mail on Thursday.

My sister Ann is learning how to use her new Cricut and I got the goodies from her practice. In addition to the coffee cups I got two shirts with my spinning romance logo that she neatened up. I love getting surprise packages and now I’ve gotten one two months in a row. In February my sweet friend Susie in Oklahoma sent me a lapghan she crocheted that is perfect for using while I knit or read in my recliner! Thank you Susie and Ann for the day brightening surprises!

And we’ve had our second vaccinations so now we’re actually talking about travelling and best of all, I’m helping plan our family reunion that we have on the odd years – I mean odd numbered years – we just escaped from a very odd year even though it came with an even number!

We’re on the cusp of normalcy. I’m hopeful that the trend continues! My prayer for each of you is that this is the year when you get to hug the people you haven’t seen during this covid mess, get to travel beyond the borders of your own county, and get to celebrate the miracles of everyday life with the people you love most in this world!

Enjoy!!!!

Almost Forgot

Yesterday was the third anniversary of the creation of this blog site. I almost forgot to celebrate because it was also the date of another thing to celebrate.

My husband and I finally we’re able to find a spot on the hospital’s website to schedule our first COVID vaccinations.

It was quite a production winding through an orange cone maze like you were at Disneyland, only in your car. They had all kinds of people checking to make sure you were scheduled, you were you, what your temperature was, what you were allergic to, and then you finally made it to the garage where they let you roll in for your vaccination. Then they gave you a fifteen minute timer and sent you out of the garage to wait in the parking lot. If you had a violent reaction or the timer went off you were supposed to honk your horn and the sheriff’s deputy who was working would come check on you. Fortunately, we only had to honk when the timer expired!

So far so good…..our second one is in three weeks. Jim is so hoping being vaccinated will allow him to be maskless, but that doesn’t appear to be likely yet. I think he would have had them tattoo his forehead as VACCINATED in big red letters if he could just lose the mask. But numbers of cases are dropping and vaccinations are being given so I remain optimistic that the light at the end of the tunnel is NOT a train!

While I’m talking to you, I have to vetch a little. I am very tired of everyone, especially certain government employees, using COVID as an excuse for lousy customer service. This morning we went to the Post Office. I had eight packages to send – fruits of my spinning, weaving, knitting and crocheting labors.

When I walked in the lobby side door there were seven people in front of me. After almost ten minutes, no one had come out of the inner sanctum. The guy at the front of the line walked up and tried the door. It didn’t open. He started pounding on it -then walked out. I hadn’t realized that everyone was waiting for it to open. It was after nine and was supposed to open at eight- thirty. People started pounding on other doors. No response.

Now, I know some of you are kindhearted and worried that something bad had happened to the postal workers within – that they had been prevented from opening on time to serve the waiting taxpayers by some homicidal maniac upset over their Christmas packages still being undelivered. Nope. We could hear laughing from behind the post office box bank. Lots of laughing. It sounded like a real celebration. It reminded me I’d forgotten to celebrate my blog anniversary yesterday. I don’t know if or when the downtown Post Office opened today. I went to Pakmail where a friendly young man smiled with his eyes and cheerfully dispatched my parcels!

Only in a COVID universe would we put up with this garbage…but hopefully that’s going to change soon! Keep washing your hands. Wear your masks. Get your vaccinations and pray unceasingly for this to end.

Can you feel the virtual hugs I keep sending you?

The Gift

This fall my husband’s sister sent me a birthday gift. Two thoughts came to mind when I opened it – why would she spend so much money on me and what in earth was I going to do with it? Frankly, I was a little aggravated that she’d sent me a ” do more work” present when I felt like I had more than enough on my plate already. It was a ten inch tabletop loom. Where was I going to put it?

We eat breakfast and lunch at the kitchen table. Not to mention it is the temporary repository for all the minutia of life requiring sorting, paying, filing, reading or tossing. No space for a loom.

The dining room table has been stripped of its tablecloth since early in the pandemic. One end is my husband’s and one end is mine for all your various projects and the middle is for afternoon crossword puzzle solving in this colder weather. No room there for any long term placement.

We eat dinner at a table that has one end covered with spinning accessories, logs and notes since my spinning wheel sits on the floor at that end. I used to clear it off when we had company to have a place for board games or cards. But that was in the Before Time. No project room at that table.

I was beginning to be curious about whether I could figure out how to weave. My husband wasn’t crazy about me beginning a new space consuming project. (We’ll not speak of those he has in process.) He’s dubbed the area around my recliner in the den as my nest since it is surrounded by projects in progress, skeins of yarn, and patterns. I’ve already told you about my spinning wheel area – for my first wheel. In the kitchen, I have a second spinning wheel made from an old treadle sewing machine. It used to be the same sister-in-law’s until she gifted it to me. Hmmm…

After the first of the year, I ordered a loom stand ( and a little fiber) with gift cards from two friends. When it came, I put together the loom, the stand and successfully connected the two. The loom came with a ball of yarn and instructions on how to weave my first scarf. I decided I was up to the challenge of learning a new trick. After all, I’ve been retired five years and in pandemic hell for almost a year. That’s a lot of bourbon under the bridge.

I had to carry everything into the guest room to have enough room to spread out for the initial loom setup – picture husband eye rolling here – it was a complicated process with inadequate instructions, mostly pictures. But I persevered and voila!

It is a peaceful, rhythmic process once you get it set up, that took over five hours the first time! When I finished the sample scarf, I dug out some yarn I’d spun that was leftover from an earlier project. It was not enought for another knitting or crochet project, but the perfect amount for a woven scarf. It’s coming along beautifully.

After my initial reluctance to appreciate the gift, I’ve found quiet satisfaction in the fact that I can learn a new skill – one that results in soft, beautiful results. I read somewhere that learning new things helps keep the devil of Alzheimer’s at bay. That can only be a good thing!

Thank you Jean for a gift that lured me into honing my learning brain cells, but I don’t think I should push my luck with anything new requiring space consuming apparatuses.

Wishing you all a little peace and satisfaction in this still insane world. I love you! Bet you can guess what you’re getting for next Christmas!

A Smile Speaks Louder Than Words

My Aunt Marlene has always had a beautiful smile. It beams in the photograph my father took before the Winter Cotillion at the University of Illinois – when the two oldest Schnepper boys took their best girls out for a formal night on the town. My parents had just been married and Gordon was dating Marlene Eyer – a pretty girl with twinkling eyes and a mischievous smile.

Aunt Marlene was a nurse by training and practiced her profession in a variety of settings. I think it must have been extra comforting to get some TLC from a nurse who had that radiant smile beaming at you.

After my grandparents, Aunt Marlene assumed the responsibility of coordinating the every other year Schnepper family reunions. One year it poured rain – a real gully washer. But it didn’t affect the turnout since most of us had come from out of town specifically to attend this event. Was it cancelled when the crowd of more than fifty couldn’t spread out in the large yard? Nope! Aunt Marlene and Uncle Gordon opened up their home and we all swarmed in. Eating and drinking. Visiting. Laughing. We took family pictures in the living room. I’m sure that sofa was never the same after being piled on by all the separate tribes who made up the reunion. Through it all, Aunt Marlene was the picture of serenity. Smiling.

Later she passed reunion coordination on to me, sharing all her mailing lists and recommendations. She and Uncle Gordon still hosted, but at the winery where there was room to set up without destroying her furniture.

When illness slowly robbed Aunt Marlene of her words, she still found effective ways to communicate with those pretty eyes and that wonderful smile. Even though words were harder to come by, her spirit was undiminished. She was willing to go on adventures like flying to New Jersey for a son’s housewarming party and always seemed happy to be in the midst of the chaos of family gatherings.

We’re never prepared to lose the people we love, even when they continue to steadily creep closer to leaving us. Earlier this week, after sharing time with all five of her children and with her loving husband at her side, my Aunt Marlene left us. I’m sure that she is smiling that beautiful smile as she looks down on us today. Thank you for showing us how much you loved us by sharing that smile for so long.