Week 25 - Born to Dye!

It was another busy week and was complicated by mind numbing fatigue. It’s that time of year when the sun’s out so late that I inevitably end up staying up too late, only to up with the sun by 5:00 the next morning. Starbuck’s saved my butt several days this week.

I was still suffering from my pulled butt muscle on Monday so went grocery shopping instead of swimming then went knitting. I haven’t been swimming on Mondays because I knit but with only 3 nights a week in the summer, I’m going to have to start, which will make for a super rushed night. Oh well. On Tuesday, I had to drop the big white kitty at the vet for her check up (I was sure she’d already been spayed and I was right) so had to leave for work quite early. I also loaded up trash cans so I could pick up mulch at the landfill for between my new raised veggie beds. I swam after work, picked up the cat, stopped at the market and then went for mulch, which they didn’t have. Bummer! I’ll have to buy some of mooch grass clippings from neighbors.

I was getting more tired with every passing day but was powering through. I don’t know if fatigue was impacting my knitting but I had to rip out my orange socks 3 times in an attempt to fix a problem with a twisted stitch. The last time was at the Union at lunchtime on Wednesday. Realizing I needed something easier than lace socks to work on, I started more chapstick cozies, which are cute and make nice gifts. I swam on Wednesday and was still thrilled with the new pool. Nancy was supposed to bring pizza chez moi at 7:00 so we could catch up. I ran home and madly started neatizing the house. But when I saw that it was 7:30 (she usually late but not that late), I checked the machine and she wasn’t coming. We talked on the phone for a long time and I was late getting busy, heading out to water my containers after 9:00. Sheesh!

By Thursday, I was the walking dead. I had had trouble falling asleep Wednesday night and was still awake after midnight then woke up with the sun. Paul was supposed to install my baseboards so I moved all the furniture to the center of the family room and cleaned the bathroom before I left. I felt numb and useless all day and didn’t wake up fully until I dove into the pool. While I didn’t work very hard, at least it woke me up and I was all showered and ready when Nancy came with the pizza at 7:00. Paul had not come that day so we hung out in the front room and had a nice time catching up then went to check out Hitler Kitty’s kittens. While we were chatting with Hitler (aka Toyko’s) owner, she mentioned that she’d had another cat with kittens who had disappeared this winter. I gulped and asked for her description. Yup, I had spayed and found a home for her cat! It was Possum. I felt bad for a nanosecond but got over it because this woman is not a responsible pet owner. I can only hope she’ll say Hitler-Tokyo, which she said she will. Nancy took her kittens (she started with taking one and went back for a 2nd) and I actually made it to bed earlier than usual and slept like a rock.

I had my 2nd French get together Friday after work so got up and made dip to take before heading to work. The day dragged (go figure) and I had a list of errands to run before the French thing at 7:00. On my way to errand #1 (Big Lots), I stopped at Goodwill and found someone’s quality yarn stash for sale. I scored a few skeins of good yarn, which made me wonder if there was more good yarn at other Goodwills. Luckily there was one right by the French thing so I stopped there on the way. Yes! More good yarn! I was excited for the French thing but got there and it was in one of those sparsely furnished, echo-y houses and a lot of people had come. It was also hot so when I was struggling to hear Sam, who was standing right next to me, I ended up in the living room, speaking English with 2 other women, one of whom was a founder of the Apero group and she couldn’t hear either. So while I spoke very little French, it was still fun and I stayed later than normal, not getting home until 10:00. The baseboards were gorgeous! He had chosen a taller one with cove molding at the top for the back room and even the bathroom had a fancier version. It all looked great. I went to bed early feeling great. Saturday was set to be another busy day.

I woke up excited for my first ever Dye Day with the Fremont spinning group. I had 4 lots of wool to prep and then Andrea was closing her shop at noon so we could drive an hour north to Patty Wilson’s house, which was in the most gorgeous location at the top of a hill overlooking a tree line and spring fed pond. The weather was gorgeous and she has the perfect set up, complete with a fully equipped studio that opens out to a covered patio. Since we had arrived late, most everyone was done dying so we had lots of instruction and dove right in. It was a blast! I absolutely LOVED it! I did a blue and green sock blank and a “skein” of yarn that I hadn’t tied so it was in a wad. Once our dye jobs were in the oven, we sat on the deck and pulled out our knitting. It was a near perfect afternoon (a cup of tea was the only thing missing.) We left near 6:00 with our gorgeous yarn then stopped in Fremont for errands and dinner, getting home ~8:30. It was a super fun day and I was totally inspired to break out my dye kit and do more. I went to bed feeling great.

Sunday was supposed to be chore day and I had a decent start when I sat down to wind my orange/purple yarn. It took hours. Seriously, like 4+. Andrea arrived toward the end and helped me with the last of it, making it go more quickly for sure. I had discovered that my dad’s desk was coming apart from being moved for the baseboards install and had to completely empty the heaped top to get it back together. I nuked some lasagna from the freezer for a quick dinner and then flew around trying to get a few things done, with only moderate success. But my messy house was worth it. I’d had a wonderful weekend and had some beautiful yarn to show for it so the chores will have to wait. Life will go on.