Trials of a Wannabe Domestic Goddess

I have grand delusions of being a domestic goddess, hence the "wannabe" in the tag line. This week Rocky, my black lab, single-handedly demolished this notion Monday night after I spent 45 minutes cleaning up high-velocity blood spatter off my bathroom walls and scrubbing the blood out of the living room carpet.

Rocky has the delusion of being a big, bad dog who hunts critters and keeps his yard safe. Unfortunately, he isn't very good at it. Monday night he came home bleeding and laid down on the carpet. The next thing I know, there's little puddles of red stuff on the carpet. I quickly discovered the source, a chunk of his ear was missing. Yup, someone/thing bit a piece of his ear off and every time he shook his head, blood sprayed everywhere.

After consulting the American Red Cross's pet owner first aid book (a Christmas present) on the best method to wrap his ear. It took a while to find a method that would keep his ear in place.

He looked a little funny.


Jasmine, our other dog, ridiculed him. She didn't allow him in the machine shed, where they have a cozy corner full of hay. She made him sit in the dog house. I think his ego is hurt.



I know that if I'm ever consumed with the desire to off someone, I'll chose a method that doesn't involve blood spatter. Every time I think I've got it all cleaned up, I notice another dark red, almost black spot on the wall, light switch, vanity, shower curtain and bathroom rug. There's no way I'd ever get a crime scene cleaned up to exclude myself from the invesigation.

We have yarn

Tonight I kicked the minions outside with their father. It was 45 degrees, and they haven't been able to play outside after supper since, oh before winter started. So, out they went, and I sat down at my yet-to-be-named spinning wheel to experiment with plying by singles.

It worked.

I cannot believe that I actually have yarn, useable yarn. While I don't have a handy tool to easily tell how many wraps per inch I have, but I'd guess that this is worsted weight, overall.




I think I like this spinning stuff. One skein is typical size, and then I have two smaller ones. All are balanced, they don't twist up on themselves. Once again, I'm in shock that they turned out this well for a first time.


I believe that I'll be spending more time at the wheel and in search of fiber.

A new obsession

One week ago, I got this:

It's a Louet S10.

To make:


I already have two bobbins full and intend to try to ply it together while the kids nap. I'm in love. So is Tori. She pretends not to be.

But, all my wool has a chance to see is this when she's attacking the bundle of roving.

Tori has turned from a yarn loving kitten into a fiber-holic much like me. She has taken my nice roving and mangled it to pieces. She even likes to mark the wheel as hers.

It's amazing how soothing a spinning wheel can be. I've been spinning some undyed roving that came with the wheel and will be out soon.

The next challenge: fiber acquisition. Imagine the possibilities!

Oh, and to find a good chair to sit in while spinning in the living room. My favorite rocking chair doesn't quite cut it, and neither does the couch.