travels with the bear

Since the last time I was in this space, I have driven from California and back.  There was Koda Bear to pick up.  We camped on the way back at Davis Mountain State Park.  It is becoming one of my favorites.  I like the quiet and the clear skies.  There is room to run and jump and climb.  I have not been there long enough to do any hiking but maybe someday? 

I could see myself hanging out there with a book under a tree.  I could hope.  Especially when dinners are made with simple ingredients over flame.  There were hamburgers and pan fries with salad for dinner.  All the hamburge was cooked into patties and we at that for days.  

I completely misjudged the traffic out of Los Angeles.  Koda Bear is just north of their and to get back to this house you have to drive through or around LA.  The wrong choice was made.  I think there is always a learning on every road trip or camping trip.  We were supposed to also camp outside of Tucson with the saguaro cactus but we did not.  Maybe next time?

When we got back to the house, there were things that needed to be done.  Meals decided upon.  Laundry.  Homework.  Playing.  Mending a shirt.  Bicycle riding.  Every moment was full.  We did not even get to go see the movie we wanted to see we were so busy!

But Koda Bear now has his own skates.  An eBay find that made him grin.  He was slow start because he had only ever used rental figure skates before.  But he was the last person off the ice.  Just like the Tall Short Person always was.  I feel like another monster was created.  I am going to need to keep coaching just so he can skate.  But I am enjoying the little bit of coaching I do.  It pays for my ice time and a little bit extra.  I find I smile a lot.

Now, I have to get back into the normal swing of things.  It will get all changed up again later this month.  More camping is planned.  Makes me smile.

Tennessee family

Two Saturdays back, we lost a patriarch of the family.  My Beloved's Great Uncle, who was more of a grandfather, died.  His health had not been well since he had taken a fall a broke his pelvis.  But that does not mean he will not be missed.  We went to the funeral, expecting to be back last Wednesday.

There were obviously other plans.  The car now has a new transmission.  It actually runs better then when we started to have error messages.  But the  metal on metal sound was what made the decision that it was time to bite the bullet for a new transmission.  We were just a few miles from family and turned around to be safe.  Common sense was a good thing.  Yes, there were things to do at home but nothing worth sitting on the shoulder of the highway in the middle of the night.

We had time with family.  We distracted ourselves from who was missing.  I will not say it did not hurt but it was not as painful as those first few days could have been.

I made jam because family supports family.  Strawberries were purchased to support a baseball team.  They were not ripe and inedible just plain.  Add enough sugar to make jam and cook the water off, and they became edible.  There was so much water in them and so little ripe fruit that it took almost three hours to cook them down and the resulting jam tastes of strawberries and caramel.

After a lazy day, there was a fire as the sunset.  The branches needed to be cleaned up anyhow and it was just a lovely time.  I worked on two shawls the whole time I was there and they are going to need to be ripped out.  Just not right.  But I have more ideas.

We went to Reelfoot lake after church.  Ate food.  Walked through the museum.  Walked through some cypress and looked at the lake.  They rehabilitate birds of prey there so that was fun to look at.  

We are home now.  It was nice to fall into my own bed at 4:00 am but that does not mean I wish I was truly home.  It was nice to spend time with family.  I got to know them better.  My Beloved did as well.  It is like going to the mountain now.  Do not really wish to come back when you are there.  

me time

I came to this space to write today and felt badly.  What am I going to write?  Most of the projects I am working on are taking time.  My works in progress are many!  And the food I am creating is a lot of requested food.  Like today, I am going to make blackberry buckle because it was requested.  I laugh at how many times I use my own recipes.  The recipe list here will always be around in some form because I use it weekly.  

The picture is of a shawl I am making.  It is one of two new crochet techniques I am learning.  Which is incredible in itself but it does not mean I have a lot of pictures of done projects.  The other technique is using a slip stitch for the whole body of the crochet work.  Just learning that one took a couple months!  And it was for a Christmas present!  It might get to my Mom for Mother's Day.  At least she may still wear it where she lives.

I am also learning how to refinish furniture.  I found a teak coffee or side table (it could also be a bench) that someone had left to be taken away.  In our neighborhood, that means it is left on the side of the street and either someone leaves with it or it goes to the landfill.  Which every comes first.   A free solid teak table to learn new things on.  I have been having a blast.  My dining room table needs to be refinished and I am looking for other free or cheap furniture to do the same with.  I may sell it.

I also need to create some new plates for letterpress work.  I start writing out all I am doing here and no wonder I look up at 7:45 pm and go crap.  That was what I did last night and dinner was going to be an hour later then that.  But it was good bread with stuff on top.  It is amazing how many meals are just truly bread and cheese.  And along the lines of things I am planning, I have not even added the six sewing projects that are in my head.  I just found out a friend is pregnant.  

The me time on the shawl last night was needed.  Quiet where I could work more on learning the new skill.  I did order more yarn for it though.  The skeins I had in the first place were not the size that I really needed.  It is okay because this is a learning process and I just keep going forward.  And I will not be able to wear this shawl until next autumn unless I am traveling probably.  It is giving me ideas for leftover yarn though.  Always a bad thing.  More projects!

trying to slow down

This week has been about trying to slow down.  The left foot in that picture is awfully damaged.  The best path for healing it is staying off of it.  Not walking thirty miles on it like last weekend.  This week it has hurt.  When I am hurting that badly, my creativity seems to pause, my energy sinks, and my mood turns more blue.

I am trying to do what I am supposed to do.  I only walked ten miles in four days.  That is really good for me.  I am icing it three times a day, stretching it multiple times a day, and I have an old ball of Koda Bear's that I am rolling it on.  The ball has spikes and it is hitting all the knots.  What is really hilarious is that I know I could put it in an ice skate, whether hockey or figure, and have a lot less pain.  

If it feels a bit thin on the blog, it is.  Because I am not being creative.  I spin yards of Finnx's fleece but you have seen that.  I can do that sitting down.  I am working on a hat but it is not done.  I am putting buttonholes on a shirt but that is not done.  Slowing my life down!  But I can say that I keep moving forward which I am most grateful for.  It is healing.  It takes time.

Maybe I will have an empty house soon and I can boil cabbages.  I use it for dye and I need to do that.  But the boyos complain.  Soon maybe?

winter camping

Winter camping in Texas is always interesting.  Over four days the temperatures went from the 70's to the 20's.  It was probably not the wisest thing I could have done.  Especially since I am still healing from an ear infection.  But it was lovely in its own fashion.

Inks Lake was down eight feet which meant we did not stay in our normal camping site at the park.  That was actually a very wise thing because somehow the new to us camp site was very sheltered.  When the wind came up, we were not hit as hard.  

The camp site we normally chose is right on the lake.  Other sites are not very close.  We always have a lot of birds.  But they are mainly water birds.  This new site had a lot of cardinals, which were just a lot of fun!  They were cheeky buggers.  By the last day, they were coming up to the picnic table even when we were close.  It is pretty amazing how well they blend into the trees and underbrush even though they are so red.  The females are not though.

The lake was down on purpose by the Colorado River authority.  Inks Lake is created by dams on the Colorado River in Texas.  The river authority had lowered it so maintenance could be done to structures on the lake and the dams themselves.  It happens about every ten to twelve years we were told.  If you do no time it right, you do not see it because Inks Lake is what they call a constant level lake to help with the effects of drought.  If it is not at level, drought is bad.  They also had the electric turbines going at full speed so there may have been a greater demand for electricity.

Even though it was cold, it was pretty.  We walked about thirty miles over those four days.  Just walking.  My cheeks are very red from wind and sun.  Even though we are home, I would still like to be camping.  It must be a fatal flaw that I would like to be going more.  Or it could be, I just like being outside.  That is probably what it is.  Except, it is hard to take my sewing machine outside.  I would miss that.  It would mean I would need to do more hand work.  Which is not a bad thing.

More babbling obviously going on.  I may laughed at!