Sleying the Reed

Today, I played with the loom.

Threading these warp threads through the reed

is called sleying.

It slays me.

(Talk about ancient sayings.)

And here she is all ready to go.

Weaving the weft into the warp.

That's the next step.

Its like learning a whole 'nother language.

 

{15 November 2013}

GUAM

When Marvis invited me to go to Saipan with her, I wasn't quite sure what to think.

Nor did I know where it was.

Nor did I know we'd get to see Guam, Saipan AND Narita Japan.

And get the special priveledge of meeting so many fabulous people. 

The view from our hotel room in Guam.

It was a short, sweet stay.

The coral in this bay is very very sharp.

The current is very very strong.

Why yes, I did get beached on sharp coral while snorkeling.

 This group worked hard to feed us.

Photos galore at the end of convention.

We headed off to Saipan that same night...

it was hard to leave Guam after even 2 and a half days!

 

{March 2013}

Meyowl

 

I try not to be pet-obsessed,

but sometimes this cat of mine is pretty cute.

(And yes, sometimes she's pretty obnoxious, too.)

 

{February 2013}

San Francisco on my mind

 

In January of this year, I got to go to San Francisco.

And I got to see this lovely couple.

And their adorable offspring.

My honorary nephew got to have his first co-ed sleepover.

And he didn't even cry much when I shared his closet!

Amazing, considering that Mom and Dad had JUST stopped responding

to every peep one week before.

{January 2013}

Autumn Paddle

 Saturday was a glorious fall day here.

I played in the yard for a bit,

getting all the ugly brown flowers

and frozen tomato vines out of the gardens

and onto the compost or burn piles.

 

Then I was supposed to go kayaking with a few friends in Iowa City.

Come to find out, lots of rental places put their kayaks away at the end of September.

Who knew?

We did find one that still had rentals available,

but the vehicle situation prevented us from getting enough.

And so, we sadly cancelled.

Meantime, my kayak was already atop my car, ready to be transported.

It looked at me sadly while I did some other necessary things.

Finally, my mom said she wanted to go for a walk.

So...I asked if she wanted to walk in the park. And help me get my kayak in the water.

She agreed.

We went.

It was glorious.

I did not capsize, but there were some good-sized swells,

and quite a bit of wind.

 

I am sad to report, though, that I lost half of my cartop carrier on the way home.

Yes, I had tie-down failure.

So, I need more foam!

Sounds like a good excuse to go to the watersports store to me.

 

{26 October 2013}

San Antone

In which I travel to Texas

To see:

 A giant earth pimple

(aka Enchanted Rock)

And two of my favorite nerds.

(Slightly belated blog thanks for your hospitality!)

 

{December 2012}

Cousins!

Sometimes it feels like we never see

each other anymore. But we got to last winter.

 

It helps that some of them have moved

from warmer climes back to the Midwest.

 

And that others of them

have plane tickets, will travel.

 

It IS fun to get together

with family.

 

Yay, BC&J. (And SMA, too!)

 

This time: in Minneapolis.

 

{December 2012}