Backyard garden

Here are a few pictures of what's happening in my backyard gardens.

My potato beds this year are a far cry from what they were last year. Last year my bed was full of potato plants along with a couple of weeds. This year the bed is full of weeds along with a few potatoes. They seem to still be coming up, but I don't have high hopes. I only have eight so far, three of which are from leftover spuds that I told my daughter to stick in the compost heap to see what came up. Last year at this time I had between 20 and 30 plants.

I have three small elderberry bushes that my daughter found in the wild, dug up, and transplanted into the yard a couple of years ago for my birthday. They're blooming right now. I use dried Elderberry blossoms in teas for colds, and I make jelly with the berries:

I have a myriad of heirloom tomatoes that I started from seed. Here's one of them. I think this one may be a 'Black From Tula', or possibly a 'Brandywine':

Most people get rid of plantain if it crops up my their yard. I have a nice big batch growing among my lavender. I use it to make poison ivy itch relief spray, and the seeds make a good laxative:

Here is a little bee on a yarrow blossom. I use yarrow in salves for stiff, achy muscles:

This is elecampane in its second year. For the first year, it stays closer to the ground, but in its second year, it shoots up and finally blooms later in the summer. I use the roots from second year plants in teas for colds:

I'll try to get some pictures of my far away garden in the community plots. I've meant to post some before this, but I always forget to bring my camera along when I go out there.

The hanging of lavender begins

My lavender has begun to bloom, which means I am harvesting everyday now as the blossoms become ready. They'll hang upside down in my warm, dark garage until they're dry. I have four different types of lavender and they each bloom at slightly different, yet overlapping, times.

The two that are blooming right now are the Hidcote and my mystery lavender. It's a mystery because it was labeled as Munstead, but when it bloomed it clearly was not. I have no idea what type of lavender it is, but it has a very pretty scent. Each of the different types has a slightly different color and scent. Some are heady and others are more delicate, both in color and in scent.

Here's a closer look at the mystery lavender. It has a small grouping of flowers instead of a longer, wand-like presentation:

The two that are not in bloom yet are the Munstead and the Provence lavenders. The Munstead will be opening any day now, but the Provence will be just a while longer.

I'm hanging my lavender to dry. Later, it will be turned into teas, sprays, sachets, and, possibly, ice cream.

Book signing this Saturday!

I'll be signing books in Cuyahoga Valley National Park this Saturday! How awesome is that?

When:
Saturday, June 18th, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Where:
Countryside Conservancy Farmers' Market
Howe Meadow, Cuyahoga Valley National Park
4040 Riverview Road,
Peninsula, OH 44262

What:
A book signing at the Farmers' Market!

If you're in the neighborhood, stop by to experience a great Farmers' Market, and come say 'hello' at the book signing tent! I'm so excited, I love farmers' markets!

Roller coaster weather

We've had roller coaster weather lately. A few days ago we were up into the 90's, and yesterday after weeding in the gardens, I came inside very chilled. It only got into the lower 60's. In the evening I threw on sweatpants and snuggled under a cozy comforter while hubby and I watched Star Wars (the original one - I can't bring myself to call it "A New Hope").

Today looks like a repeat of yesterday so far, weather-wise, but it's early yet...

Difficult, and utterly beautiful things

Yesterday was a difficult day. We had to put two cats down. One was somewhere around 22 years old, and one was somewhere around 16. Both were much loved. Even though these things are done because you love them and don't want them to be uncomfortable, it's never easy.

And so the day was wrapped in grief and tears and recollections, and sometimes even laughter, but by the end of it, I was so incredibly tired. I went to bed with heavy eyes and a muddled head from all of the emotions and tears of the day. At a little after 11:00 my daughter came home from visiting her boyfriend (one of the cats had been his). She woke me up and said, "Come downstairs, I need to show you something." With my daughter, all bets are off when she makes these kinds of announcements. You never know what's in store.

I managed to open my eyes enough to maneuver unsteadily out of bed and down the stairs. My daughter stood by the door and said, "You have to get in the car. I have to drive you someplace." When I began to protest, she added, "You'll love it, I promise."

And so I climbed into the car in my jammies, still half asleep, and my daughter drove me down little back roads while I kept mumbling things like, "I think this must be a dream. I'm pretty sure this is just a dream." My daughter only said, "You'll love it, I promise." Finally, when we were on a small, forested road, she said, "Close your eyes."

That wasn't hard, they were mostly closed with sleep as it was. I dutifully closed my eyes and had the sensation of a small child, mostly asleep, being carried to bed, as the car slowed, made a turn, and stopped. "Okay, open your eyes and look."

I opened my eyes and said, "Ohhh..."

We were on the edge of a field of tall grasses, surrounded by forest, with a million fireflies blinking everywhere, all around. I stepped out of the car, amazed. It was like standing in the middle of a blinking, starry sky. We found a couple of large boulders to stand on so that we could look far out into the field and see how the fireflies continued on into the distance. They were everywhere, in the grasses, above the grasses, filling the air, up in the trees, and right next to us. Flashing and blinking and twinkling. We stood there for I don't know how long, mesmerized, watching a million tiny lights, glowing in quick flashes above the nighttime meadow and within the even darker night among the trees. I whispered, "Thank you, Jessica, for bringing me here." She gave me a hug. 

My daughter was right. I did love it. It was an utterly beautiful ending to an enormously difficult day. 

 And I'm still not sure it wasn't a dream. 

Last garden planted - finally

My daughter and I spent the day planting the far away garden. That's what I call my plot in the community gardens. It's really only about a 5 minute walk from my house, but as my other gardens are in my yard, this one has been dubbed the far away garden. It's been so rainy here that planting was delayed for weeks. The community plots were very swampy until midway through this past week. They finally opened the gardens up for planting last night. It was a busy place all day today with people coming and going, putting their precious seeds and plants into the ground, and hoping that they grow quickly to make up for the late start.

By 10:00 AM I was ready to call it a day, and I hadn't even gotten out to the far away garden yet. I'd only gotten as far as watering the herb and vegetable gardens in the yard and filling my wheelbarrow with compost intended for the community plot. We're close enough to the community plot that I can wheel the barrow over there, so I filled it with compost from my 'compost heap' to wheel over there. That's what wore me out. You see, the good stuff, the stuff that's ready for the garden, is all at the bottom of the heap. It takes a lot to move the not-quite-ready stuff out of the way and then get down in there to all of that dark, soil-like richness.

And a barrow full of compost is heavy. Did I mention that? And I had to navigate it along the path in the park next door, full of throngs of people there for a huge softball tournament being played on the four fields. I looked a tad out of place, and in front of all of those people I didn't want to put the barrow down to rest - come on, I have some pride. So by the time I got to the far away garden, my arms were cramping up, my shoulders were burning, I was pouring sweat, and I had to rest for a good 10 minutes before I could pick up the shovel and start loading the compost into the garden. And I'd only just begun.

My daughter joined me halfway through, so I had some much appreciated help just when I was actually beginning to peter out. We got the whole thing planted, a few sore muscles, and a bit of a sunburn despite the applications of sunblock.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed. My experience with the community gardens last year was pretty disastrous due to flooding. I have a different plot this year and, I've heard, out of the garden flood plane. We'll see how it all goes.

I'll get some pictures up when I can move my arms enough lift the camera ; )

The best ever poison ivy itch relief

I've finally done it:

I've figured out how to translate fresh plantain smooshed up and rubbed on poison ivy into a spray that really, really works!

When you have a poison ivy rash, there is no better relief than smooshing up fresh plantain leaves and rubbing the juice onto your skin. It stops the itch and soothes the rash with its cool, astringent goodness.

I've tried translating that relief into salves and creams, but they didn't work. I've finally made a spray using fresh plantain leaves that works. It's the best ever itch relief for poison ivy that I have found - and I've tried them all.

I'll be introducing Best Ever Poison Ivy Itch Relief Spray on June 11th at my vendor booth for the Avant-Garde Art and Crafts Show in Middleburg Heights, OH. After that it will be available for purchase through my Etsy shop.

Holiday Weekend Visit

My sister and one of my nieces with her finance came for a visit over Memorial Day weekend. I was so happy to have them, and so sad to drop them off at the airport yesterday when the visit ended.

We did a lot of things, but for some reason, I didn't get many photos. One day we went for a hike in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, along the Ledges trail. I like that hike a lot. There are sandstone cliffs, rock passageways to hike through, and lots of moss and ferns. 

It was a warm day, but thankfully cool hiking down through the cracks and crevasses of damp stone.

The holiday weekend is over, now, and real life takes over once again. Hope you had a nice weekend.

Gardening, swamp-style

It's been extremely rainy here this spring. I guess 'wet' is how you could describe a large portion of the United States right now. We don't have the severe flooding of the Midwest here in northeast Ohio, but swamp would be an appropriate word to attach to our back yard at the moment. There was maybe a day and a half without rain, and a bit of sun thrown into the mix this past week. It was enough to dry out the garden plot to the point where I could get some things into the ground before the rain started again today.

I spent yesterday furiously planting everything that I could into my backyard vegetable and herb gardens. I'm so sore today!

I still have one garden to plant - my 10x10 plot in the community gardens, but as most of those plots are currently either underwater or pure, soupy mud, they haven't opened them up for planting yet. Here's hoping they dry out before it's too late to bother with anything but radishes (they're fairly quick between sowing and harvest). I don't like radishes. Or maybe we could plant rice? I have a packet of marshmallow seeds. They'd probably do well out there in all of that marshy muck.

It's been an interesting spring. I wonder what the summer will bring?

All of the sparkly vampires should move here.

Forget Forks. We've had clouds and rain for 37 out of the past 40 days. No one would be able to see them sparkle.

Getting two books ready for paperback release!

I've been hard at work getting My Twelfth Christmas and The Witch of Starmont ready for paperback release. I won't have my hands on the proofs until next week.

I'm excited about them becoming available in paperback for two reasons. One is that I'll be able to offer paperbacks of The Witch of Starmont for sale along with my herbal salves and teas and tinctures when I participate in an arts and crafts fair in early June. The Witch of Starmont is about a woman who runs her own herbal remedy and skin care business, but who also harbors a secret. There's a lot in the book about collecting and growing beneficial plants, so it will be a nice addition to everything I'm offering for sale at the craft fair. Those interested in my wares may also be interested in the book.

The other reason is because My Twelfth Christmas is my best seller and it might be the type of book that people want to have a hard copy of. It's small and will be very inexpensive, likely under $4.00. So when the Christmas season rolls around (although it sells pretty steadily all year round), the paperback version will be there, too, for those who may want it in that format.

You can read the first chapter of My Twelfth Christmas here, and you can read the first chapter of The Witch of Starmont here.

Slowing it down, three-toed sloth style

If you ever feel that life is too hectic, just think about this three-toed sloth, and maybe it'll slow you down a bit. He (or she?) takes it nice and easy moving from one tree to the next. My husband shot the clip while in the jungles of Costa Rica last week:

Dyeing wool with dandelions

On Mother's Day, I made my daughter come with me into the park next door to fill a plastic grocery sack with dandelion flowers. My son was happy that he had to work and couldn't join in the fun : )

I used the dandelions to dye a little over 4oz. of wool roving that I had combed up from my Christmas Fleece.

It came out a very nice yellow. I spun half of it into a skein of about 380 yards of two-ply - pictured above.

I only wish I had spun it a little better. It wasn't my best. My intentions were to add it to my slowly-growing inventory of handspuns that I'm going to offer for sale at the two vendor booths I have lined up this summer - one at a craft fair and one at a 'fiber fling' weekend. The quality of the spinning wasn't that great for this particular skein, though, so I might just keep this one for my personal stash.

I'm currently working on the other half of that roving. The first bobbin of what will eventually become a two-ply, is on my wheel right now:

I'm paying more attention as I spin this one. The problem with the last one, I think, was that I had just come off of spinning a four-ply of a different kind of wool and it took a while to adjust back to this type of wool. Hopefully I'll get a sellable skein out of it. We'll see...

Spider Silk

photo from this site

The picture at right is a traditional royal Madagascar weaving done in spider silk. That's right. Spider silk. The silk was milked by hand from golden orb spiders found in the wild in Madagascar. More information about the cloth and the process that went into its creation can be found here.

This is one of the most beautiful textiles I've ever seen, and I'm doubly interested in it because in my book, Rose of Par Kluhnd: A Fairy Tale, there is an area in the Lands of Shey which produces textiles made from spider silk. In fact, Rose, from time to time in the story, wears armor made from spider silk.

Spider silk ounce, for ounce, is stronger than steel, but my use of it as armor in the story is poetic license. It turns out that spider silk is extremely elastic, so although it might be able to stop a sword or a bullet, it would stretch so much in the process that the sword or the bullet would actually go right through you anyway. For a tad more information about spider silk, visit this post in my blog.

And here is a little clip featuring this amazing, golden cloth woven from the silk of spiders:

Woo hoo!

photo from this site

Sixteen ounces of Gotland sheep's wool just arrived in the mail. This is the same kind of wool that the elvish cloaks in The Lord of the Rings movies were made out of. They're New Zealand sheep. I can't wait to spin it up! I only wish I had a loom so that I could weave some cloth. I'll have to content myself with knitting things out of it. And, of course, I'll put some of the skeins up for sale at my vendor booths when I participate in craft fairs and fiber shows this summer. Maybe I'll make enough money to seriously put toward a loom. I can dream, can't I?

photo from this site

My asparagus is coming up!

Last year I planted a couple of asparagus plants. They grew nicely into tall, feathery fronds. I worried that they would overwinter well. I've been checking on them every so often as spring has begun to come alive around us, but I hadn't seen any sign of life until yesterday. Two spears are starting to poke through the dirt! I'm so happy. These are my first asparaguses ever. I found some wild asparagus last summer, so now I guess it's time to go and see if I can gather some - I'm excited. Asparagus takes time to establish itself and my own plants won't really be ready to harvest from for at least another year, so I'm glad I found a little patch of the wild stuff to tide us over.

Safe planting time here is still a couple of weeks away. My sprouts are doing very well. I've got loads of heirloom tomatoes just waiting to go into the ground - I've got so many of the little plants that I'll have to give some away to friends. I don't think they'll mind : )

I have a plot in the community gardens again this year, my medicinal herb plot under the kitchen window, and the vegetable plot in the back of the yard. I've got a few other small places where I've tucked things like lavender, some culinary herbs, and wintergreen. And I have several pots of various sizes with herbs, flowers, and some large ones with blueberry plants. And my son has roses in the front yard. He added one more to the three we planted last year.

If it ever stops raining we can get out and start getting the beds ready.

Happy Wedding Day!

Congrats to the new royal pair! Isn't it fun to get caught up in all the frippery?

The local grocery store has invited everyone to come and have wedding cake and coffee from noon to one o'clock today. And we're in Ohio, an ocean away from it all : ) It's nice to have reasons to smile and eat cake!

Mmwaa! Sealed with a royal kiss.

My new book trailer!

I'm so excited about the trailer for Rose of Par Kluhnd! Here it is:



What do you think?

I was looking through some old photos hoping to find enough to use in a book trailer I'm trying to make, when I came across this photo:

It was taken by my daughter a couple of years ago when on a trip to England. I just thought it was beautiful and wanted to share. You can click on the photo to see it even larger, and then click on the back arrow to return to the blog.

I'm building up my inventory

I've been busy with spinning, spinning, and more spinning, building up my inventory of handspun yarns so that I have enough for the two vendor booths I've signed up for this summer at craft and fiber fairs. 

I broke down and bought some handpainted roving from several shops on Etsy to speed the process along. There is no way that I could wash, comb, dye, and spin all that I needed from my own raw fleeces. All of that takes time. I'll still be using my own stuff, but won't be relying on it exclusively for my yarns.

Ooh there are lots of beautiful handpainted rovings for sale on Etsy. It's hard to narrow my choices down to just a few : )  They spin up so beautifully, too.

The Alpacalypse

Is that when alpacas take over?

A few months ago we received a postcard in the mail from some sort of church warning us that the end of the world would happen on March 21st.

Well, March 21st has come and gone and, as far as I know, we're still here. Right??

Maybe when things kept looking pretty okay on March 21st, the people of that church should have done this:

Wood duck weekend

A couple of weekends ago, my husband and I went in search of bald eagles. This weekend we went out in search of wood ducks. We found some at a park along the Chagrin River here in northeast Ohio. Click on any of the photos to see them enlarged, and then hit the back arrow to return to the blog.

Here's a female. The males generally get all of the attention, but I think the females are pretty, too:

And this is why the males get all the glory:

Which one stands out when they're side-by-side?:

I know, I know, the pretty boys:

We also found a hawk who was nice enough to let us snap a few photos. My husband took the picture below:

I wonder what kind of weekends we'll have in the future...

The Gray Wolf Throne...

comes out on my birthday! What a great birthday present! I still have to wait until the end of August, but I can do that.

This is a terrific series, beginning with The Demon King, continuing with The Exiled Queen, and now, ending (at least I think this is a trilogy) with The Gray Wolf Throne.

Cinda Williams Chima is the author - I have signed copies of all of her books so far : ) She lives in the area and she's given talks at our library and had book signings at our local independent bookstore.

Oh what a happy day August 30th will be!

Early spring in the wood

Color is not apparent yet in the woods here in northeast Ohio. The season is still early here and frost-free nights are still several weeks away. Early spring hasn't shed its winter colors yet. But soon...

Click on any of the pictures to see them larger, and then hit the back arrow to return to the blog.

Somehow these seeds escaped the blizzardy winds of winter and are still holding on together:

photo by Steve Ash

Here is a peek at early spring growth, still shy and hidden away:

photo by Steve Ash

Little animals gnaw away at old bones and antlers until nothing is left:

photo by Steve Ash

Frilly skirts for fallen logs:

photo by Steve Ash

All of these photos were taken by my husband.

Lack of sleep causes rambling posts

Didn't sleep well last night due to accidentally drinking regular coffee instead of decaf too late in the evening. As I lay in bed trying to sleep, all sorts of strange thoughts coursed through my brain. And music.

I've been listening to a lot of Runa and Kate Rusby lately. All night, amid half-coherent wonderings about lots of things that seemed so important at the wee hours, in the background, my mind's music played such songs as I Am Stretched on Your Grave, a hauntingly beautiful and melancholy tune.

I first heard that song a couple of weeks ago in the venue of a cozy National Park lodge, sung by the Celtic band, Runa. Wow. Utterly beautiful.

Anyhoo, you can tell that I'm still tired, can't you? What I really came to type about before finally actually going to sleep, is that I spent the day finishing up making a cat bed. What I wanted to say about it is that it's made out of what I refer to as 'crap yarn' - the yarn I've spun out of the trash fiber that's left behind in my wool combs after combing wool fiber into spinable roving for my spinning wheel.

This stuff was really bad, anyone would be right in throwing it away, but I decided to keep it. I carded it, spun it, and dyed it with leftover dyes from legitimate projects. I knitted up what I wanted to be a cat bed, which I was going to felt.

I finished the knitting today and felted it in my washing machine. What came out was actually really pretty. It looks like an art piece. I'm flabbergasted. I'm way too tired to go through the hassle of taking pictures and posting them tonight, but soon. I'll try to take some nice pics and share.

Of course if I try to make something like it again, on purpose, it won't turn out as pretty - that's the way it always works, isn't it?

The Ogham Alphabet

 

From the Triskelle Irish History Website.

 This is the Ogham Alphabet, a form of ancient Celtic writing often found carved on standing stones.

Each letter is also associated with a type of tree. Different types of trees held their own special meanings - mystical, magical, or sacred - for the long-ago users of Ogham.

I borrowed the Ogham alphabet and use it here and there in my book, Rose of Par Kluhnd: A Fairy Tale. There are a lot of links to ancient Irish myth and legend in this book, for those who care to look for it. You don't have to be at all acquainted with Irish lore in order to enjoy the book, but it's there for those who want to delve a little deeper.

Congrats to the giveaway winners! And, we have skipped the other seasons and gone straight back to winter.

My book giveaway is now over and five winners have been sent a copy of Rose of Par Kluhnd: A Fairy Tale. Congratulations to:

Bitsy Anderson
Kendra Swallow
Fiona Clark
Dana Palmer
Gabbie Jonhson

Out of 1389 people entered, they were the winners! One is from Great Britain, one is from Canada, and three are from the good ol' United States. Your books are on the way! And a big thank you to all of those who entered to win a copy of Rose of Par Kluhnd. Wish I could afford to send everyone a copy : )

In other news, we seem to have skipped over spring, summer, and fall, and gone directly back to winter. At least our doggy likes the snow : )

In which I mention a Book Giveaway and digress on the topic of Negative Reviews

ONE: There are only a couple of days left to enter my book giveaway at Goodreads - it ends March 31st. I'm excited to learn who the winners will be. I have the books right here, waiting to go out to their new owners.

TWO: I read a negative review for a self-published book the other day, and rejoiced. I've read samples of several self-published books which were not very good, and yet they had several reviews which rated them very highly. When I see that I wonder if it's all family and friends writing the reviews, or acquaintances who are too embarrassed to say what they may really have thought. When a one star review pops its head above the crowd of accolades, I do a fist pump and say, "Yes!"

Why? Well, the particular review that I'm alluding to here, mentioned poor writing, grammatical and syntax errors, and the overall poor flow of the story, among other things. And I would have to agree with the reviewer for the book in question. As a writer, I want to know about these things - preferably before my work goes out to the public. But if I've published trash, I also want to know that. I'll want to improve my writing, or take a good, introspective look to see if I should leave writing behind and allot my time to other things.

I have three self-published books out there and very little feedback. One of the things that is stressed by other writers, self-published or not, is that writers must keep writing. Self-published writers tell each other that continuing to write and publish is one of the things which must be done in order to pave the road to success. I haven't gotten much feedback on the work I have out there, and because of that, I haven't really written anything for a while. I don't want to be throwing muck out there, if that's what it is.

So I'm waiting for feedback. I'm not afraid of honest reviews, in fact I crave them. It's hard to improve when everyone is just smiling and patting your back and gushing. Hey, I've gushed over books before, but I honestly felt the love. You can see some of my gushes under Recommended Books. I don't do reviews, per se, I do book recommendations here on this blog. I will do reviews on Goodreads, and I've occasionally given a bad review, but the books were exceptionally horrible. These weren't self-published books, but I think that if self-published authors hit that 'publish' button before their work is truly fit for public consumption, they should be ready to hear about it - and be grown-up enough to take the criticism and use it to improve their craft.

I hope I'm grown-up enough to hear the truth about my books.

And so it begins...

I now have 216 starter pots planted with various herb and veg seeds. The growing season has officially commenced.

The Reapers are the Angels

Alden Bell's (aka Joshua Gaylord's) book, The Reapers are the Angels, is a harrowingly beautiful book about the zombie Apocalypse.

If you happen to be looking for just such a book, this is it.

This one is going to stay with me for a while. It's not one of those that fades away and you pick up again thinking, "Maybe I'll read this," not realizing that you already have. No. You will always remember this book.

Highly recommended, even to those of you who are not zombie fans - I'm not either, but this is now one of my favorite all-time books.

There is beauty and wonderment to be found, even in a world full of zombies, if only you choose to see it.

Two things...

First, Elizabeth Taylor has passed away at the age of 79. The other day I was excited to find my favorite movie of hers in the $5 bin at the store - National Velvet. She's very young in that movie. Her youth and energy are so immediate and palpable, and I always think about how, when she made that movie, she had her whole life ahead of her. It's sad to think that a legend is now gone, but today I'll unwrap my $5 prize and see her again as she was when it all still lay before her.

Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Rooney in National Velvet

Second, the movie Jane Eyre will be in out soon. I never really liked the book, classic though it is. It was always a little too dark and creepy for me, and I didn't really like the love story. But, of course, I will go see the movie - the trailer makes it look very good. And I'll probably revisit the book. Maybe I'll be cajoled into seeing what all of the other admirers of Jane Eyer see.

The full moon, deer, and Runa

Over the weekend, the moon's elliptical orbit brought it the closest to earth that it's been in 18 years.

photo by Steve Ash

My husband and I had tickets on Saturday night, the full moon night, to see the Celtic band, Runa, perform in the cozy venue of a nearby national park lodge. My husband dropped me off and went to take a few pictures of the moon. He finally joined me at intermission, so he was able to enjoy the last half of the concert, which was fabulous.

photo by Steve Ash

We came across a herd of deer grazing at the edge of a forest on our way to the lodge. We snapped a few photos of them, too.

Click on any of the pictures to see them even bigger, and then hit the back arrow to come back to the blog.

Hope your weekend was enjoyable, too. And Happy Spring!

Spring!

It's here! And serious work has begun:

Photo by my daughter, Jessica

Happy Spring!

Here's what's on my wheel right now

Here's what I 'm currently working on. I've already made one two-ply skein and named the yarn 'Candy Shop' because of its bright colors.

What you see in the picture is one of the singles which will be plied with another singles to make the two-ply yarn. This is wool which I've processed from my Christmas Fleece, dyed, and am now spinning.

These yarns will go into the inventory for my vendor booth at the Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show which I'll be participating in on June 11th. I may also be a vendor in the Crooked River Fiber Fling in Peninsula, Ohio, in August.

More on Bald Eagle sightings

The other day I spotted a bald eagle while walking the dog in the neighborhood park next door. Over the weekend, my husband and I decided to go find some more. There are nesting sites nearby so we went to the eagles this time:

And we spotted some. My husband captured a few photos. This one has a mallard flying rather close to an attentive eagle:

Here is one of my favorites:

And here are a couple of pictures he took of the sunset from our back yard after the recent snowfall:

Sometimes the colors of the sunset linger for a while, subtly changing until dusk takes over. This particular sunset faded very quickly. I was glad my husband was able to capture it before it was gone:

Hopefully the last snowstorm?

Another snowfall last night. Some of us are hoping (against hope?) that it was the last. I took some pictures while walking the dog.

It was a wet, heavy snow, just right for making snowpeople. Alas, my kids are old enough now that snowpeople aren't often on their to-do lists anymore.

The first review of Rose of Par Kluhnd is in!

My book, Rose of Par Kuhnd: A Fairy Tale, has received its first review, and I'm thrilled with it. To read the review please visit Books, Off the Page. That link will take you to the review of my book, for all other reviews, please click this link.

A little humor to brighten your day:

I saw a bald eagle today!

There I was walking the dog when I spotted a bald eagle happily circling part of the park next door (where I was at the time) and the neighborhood.

Bald eagle numbers have been increasing here in northeast Ohio and so these sightings are becoming less rare. There are lots of nesting sites along the upper Cuyahoga River, and in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which is just a hop skip and a jump away from where I live.

My son and my daughter have both seen bald eagles over the past few years while doing mundane things like driving home from high school and (again) walking the dog.

But today was my turn, and it was pretty nifty to watch a bald eagle soaring over the soccer fields in the neighborhood park.

Ebook Week at Smashwords - 1/2 off coupon for my ebook!

Smashwords is repeating their annual Ebook Week special promotion starting Sunday, March 6th and ending Saturday, March 12th. I'm participating in the promotion with Rose of Par Kluhnd: A Fairy Tale. For one week only at Smashwords, my book will be 50% off with this ecoupon code, to be used at checkout:

RAE50

Click here for Rose of Par Kluhnd's Smashword page, and use the coupon at checkout to receive this ebook at the discounted price of $1.50, only at Smashwords.com! The promotion begins Sunday, March 6th and ends Saturday, March 12th.

Spring is on the way!

I spotted two robins and two red-winged blackbirds yesterday. Spring is just around the corner - I can feel it coming!

One more "Last Word" on my Superfocus glasses

I recently was asked by someone who left a comment on one of my Trufocals/Superfocus posts (yes, even though the posts are over a year old, I'm notified when a new comment has been posted and is awaiting approval, so if you have questions, feel free to post in any of the Trufocals/Superfocus posts):

Hi ICBQ!


I came upon your blog while doing research on the superfocus glasses. For the first time I am about to get some sort of "real" glasses (as opposed to drug-store readers) and I am intrigued by these.I do not think I will like bifocals or progressives from the sound of them.


You & I have a few things in common, I read a lot, use the computer a lot, and I knit (not as much as I want!).


So, it is now the end of Feb. 2011 and I am wondering how you (and the other posters that have them) are liking the superfocus after these few months? Can you update pretty please?

And here is what I answered:

Hi Alicia!



Okay, here's an update. I've now owned my Trufocals/Superfocus glasses for well over one year. My prescription needs a renewal (I can tell this for close-up). Will I renew with Superfocus eyewear? Probably not, but here are my very personal reasons:


1)The frames hug me too tightly at the temples and leave semi-permanent grooves at the sides of my face.


2)The focus, at least for me, needs changing a lot, and it's difficult to do this when you're doing something that takes both hands, or your hands are mucky with dough, wet yarn, soil, and the list goes infinitely on.


3)I still struggle with the way they look. I've actually been laughed at when I've put them on before in front of some people. And lots of times I felt like they needed introducing before I donned them so that I wouldn't get strange stares or reactions.


I wish I had enough money to buy Superfocus eyewear AND bifocals AND prescription reading glasses, because I definitely like the clear focus of the Superfocus glasses, especially when reading and doing close work, like knitting.


I may regret going back to a bifocal/prescription reading glasses combo, but my prescriptions usually need upping almost every year, so I can always try again!

Book Giveaway!!

I'm doing a book giveaway through Goodreads! I'll be giving away five copies of my book, Rose of Par Kluhnd: A Fairy Tale, which has just become available in paperback.

Go to Goodreads and enter for your chance to win a copy. The contest ends March 31st. Goodreads will randomly select the winners at that time, notify me, and then I'll send the books to the winners!

It's available as an ebook, too, at all major ebook retailers. Click here for ebook details.

Reunion Weekend - 31 years felt like no time at all!

I made a trip to Maryland over the weekend to attend my 31 year high school reunion (my class couldn't get it together in time for the 30 year). A few of us went on a tour of the old high school which has been remodeled and expanded. Here we are gathered around the bulldog in the new entryway of Winston Churchill High School - go Bulldogs! (I'm in the green jacket):

It was a blast seeing people I haven't seen for a few decades. Believe it or not, lots of people looked exactly the same. Well, yes, we've all changed a bit and grown older, obviously, but it was a hoot to see that everyone has the same mannerisms, same voice, same face. I could picture them all with books in their arms plowing through the crowded halls of high school on their way to class.

At first I was ambivalent about going, but then my close friend, Melissa, said that I had to come because she had booked a room in the hotel for us to share. And that was that. Thanks, Melis! I had a great time and I'm so glad I didn't miss it!

Summer's end meets winter's middle

During the summer I'm busy with trying to tame parts of my yard into vegetable and herb gardens. They are always usually partly wild and would turn on me in a twinkling if I left them to their own devices for too long. It was a challenge to find spots in our tree-lined lawn that gather enough sun during the day to support a garden. But I did find a few, and let me tell you, these spots prefer sprawling weeds over neat plots of specifically-intended plants.

Anyhoo, I digress. What I wanted to say, was that I turn the herbs I grow into salves and teas and whatnot. There is one particular weed which I don't mind, and I encourage its growth right next to a little rosebush where it decided to show itself. This weed is plantain. It is the best thing in the whole world for poison ivy. The only problem is, I haven't been able to make a plantain salve that works on poison ivy the same way a freshly picked and smooshed-up leaf rubbed on the rash works. So as summer waned, I decided to try making a tincture with plantain.

Making salve involves heating fresh or dried herbs gently in a carrier oil, thereby infusing the oil with whatever good things the herb possesses. Tincturing, on the other hand, involves a food processor, vodka, and a dark closet. The herb is chopped up into a pulpy glop, vodka is added, and the vodka-glop mix is left in a dark closet for a couple of weeks - shaken now and then - so that the herb can release all of its goodness into the alcohol. When done, the mixture is strained and pressed, the vodka tincture is saved, and the left-over herb mash is composted.

At the end of last summer, I made a tincture with plantain. I've been intending to make a lotion with it to see if the lotion will work to sooth poison ivy. But fall came, and then winter, and I was busy with other things, and all of the poison ivy in the area dropped its leaves and went to sleep.

The tincture has been sitting in my dark closet all this time, unused - until last night. Yesterday, a spot on the back of my thumb became suddenly itchy. The itchiness progressed as the day wore on, and in the evening, when I snuggled down with a book, the itchiness began to drive me nuts. I looked at my thumb and it was red, irritated, a little swollen, and had a little spot which looked suspiciously like maybe it was a spider bite.

I seriously needed something to soothe whatever was happening there, just below the knuckle, and it was just then that I remembered my plantain tincture. I dashed to the closet and undid the lid. The dark-green tincture smelled like summer, somehow. All herby and plant-like. I rubbed some on my thumb and the itchiness faded. The area was still sensitive, but the urge to itch disappeared. I put some more on before I went to bed, and again this morning.

The itch is gone as long as I don't accidentally wash the tincture off. If I do, more goes on again. I don't like spider bites, but I love my plantain tincture. I'm really glad I made it all those months ago and it was ready for me to use now, in the dead of winter with snow deep on all of the places where my wonderful plants are waiting for spring.

Pounding into felt

I spent yesterday morning leaning over my tub and pounding wool fiber into felt.

When you comb wool fiber with wool combs, there is some that gets left behind in the combs during the process. The really bad stuff is usually thrown away, while the better stuff can be saved and carded if you have carding combs or a drum carder.

I decided to keep even the really bad stuff. I've been carding it and saving it. A stray cat lives near my daughter's boyfriend's apartment. Someone converted an old recyling bin into a little house for it so that it has someplace to go out of the weather. It's been really cold here and I thought I would save this fiber and try to make a felted cat bed for this kitty.

I began the process yesterday, deciding to go the pounding route instead of the spinning into yarn, knitting, and then felting in the washing machine route.

My pounding muscles are sore, but I made a nice piece of thick felt. It wasn't really enough for a bed with cozy walls, so I found some scraps of fleece fabric and ended up making a bed with walls stuffed with poly stuffing and the felt as the floor of the bed.

One of my own cats wanted to use it right away when it was finished.