Loomin'

"Are you loomin'?" How many times was this phrase spoken during those days of weaving demonstrations? People, mostly men, are always intrigued with the loom workings--the up and down motion of the harnesses and the stepping of the feet on the treadles. But, now there is a loom associated with knitting. It is a circular pegged loom, much like the small weaving looms that were used for potholders. Amazing, that the weaving world has crossed over into the knitting world! Yes, I'm in the process of 'loomin' as the warp is on the loom but it's on my weaving loom and not a knitting loom. . This is 8 harness Macomber loom but the weaving pattern is to use only 4 of the harnesses. The warp is bamboo yarn dyed to commemorate 2010 Convergence conference to be held in Albuquerque, NM. The colors are quite fabulous and it looks as good on the loom as it did on the warping board.

The wonderful shuttle is made by Michael Harris of Dallas, who 'dabbles' in woodworking and does an outstanding job! This is a great small shuttle with smooth lines and great throwing ability. The bobbin (two silk sewing thread spools) fit and run nicely on the magnetic rod. Sometimes Michael will show his wares at small regional conferences but at the last conference attended, we learned that Michael is working in the Philippines so it could be awhile before he has any other lovely shuttles to offer. In the meantime, this little shuttle will be savored and enjoyed as it glides across the warp threads.
Not so sure about the pattern look, but we'll venture on and hope that the structure will grow on me.

Miscommunication!

The repair work around the summer residence has been completed--finally! Now, we only need to pay the bills that are rolling in; answer inquiries from HOA about painting without their approval and make sure the roofing permit is filed away for safe keeping. There has certainly been "failure to communicate clearly" in our way to completing this repair task. When thinking of miscommunication (failure to communicate clearly) brings up the famous movie quote--do you know what movie and who spoke those famous lines? Answer at the end of our miscommunication. First off, DH worked so hard to turn all those deck boards over so painters could apply 'stain' to the bare wood. Now, thinking of stain, we see in our mind's eye hints of walnut, pecan, cherry, etc that will bring out the sheer of the bare wood, using its transparent abilities to leave the luster of the natural wood to shine through. Painters, bucket and paintbrush in hand, start to spread color on the bare wood! Heavens to Betsy--"No, No" he hurries out the sliding door to say--"this is not what I wanted". Poor painter, who doesn't speak much English, looks dismayed--this is what is on order form--STAIN! The bucket even reads STAIN, even though it's the color of the house and solid color. Painter makes his phone call to supervisor, while DH makes his phone call to company office--"we want stain on deck, not paint", he declares over the phone. 'We'll need to call you back with an answer', the reply comes. DH goes to paint bucket to read about contents. Thank goodness, the internet has come through again with description of this STAIN painters want to apply to wood deck. Kwal stain is in fact a solid color STAIN--much better, longer lasting and perfect for wooden decks! This is definitely a miscommunication or a failure to communicate! And shows how much we are out of the loop in the paint world!

Grand looking deck and house--looks to be a new house!
Now, to the HOA communication that we received. In letter dated the day we begun to paint: "you must have approval to paint your house"--well, not those words but close. We did read the guidelines on website and it clearly states that 'if no color change is made in paint, then there is no reason to have HOA approval'. Okay, another miscommunication on their part, not ours this time!
We also had a miscommunication with roofing company when they didn't leave permit on site so when city inspector came out, he would not approve the roofing job until the permit was posted! Okay, roofers bring out permit and post on the window and it's there for days. Earlier this week company calls to say it was approved and you could take down the permit--the city came out again? yes, there it is--signed, sealed and delivered--approved! Why post the permit if the city inspector isn't taking the permit for his records? Oh, well, miscommunication on someone's part. Goes to the fact that in our daily lives we think we are communicating right but the other person on the end of that conversation might have a different thought of your communication.

Answer to question, who spoke these famous words and what movie? "What we have here is a failure to communicate."--was voted as the #11 movie quote by the American Film Institute. This line was spoken in Cool Hand Luke. The quote is attributed to "Captain, Road Prison 36," who was played by Strother Martin.
Here is the entire quote:

"What we've got here is failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach, so you get what we had here last week which is the way he wants it. Well, he gets it. And I don't like it any more than you men."
The captain isn't the only one who utters the words. Later in the movie, the main character, Luke (Paul Newman), still cocky despite being cornered by prison guards, openly mocks the Captain with the famous line.

Finished!

Okay, finished with one project--feeling good! That one is ticked off the list and we go onto the next UFO. This is slow going and the list is still very long.
The scarf was knit from handspun Roving Art April selection. It is a great feeling to take the project off the needles and block it. Laid out on the basement carpet as that was the only area that wasn't high traffic. It's a good lace pattern but was monotonous after the pattern was learned. And once you know the pattern and begin knitting, it seems the yarn will never run out!
Now, when to wear this scarf? Since it is wool, the scarf will rest till colder weather. Just can not let it abide in the closet rolled up and out of eye sight. It needs to be on display.


A true work of art in my book!

Hi Ho into the Mountains We Go!

What a great weekend we had--a trip into the mountains is a pure pleasure any day of the week but this trip was to partake in the BBQ cook-off being held in Dillon, CO. Load up the car with drinks and off we go. No food required as we are going to stuff ourselves with BBQ! It's early so our first stop is for that substance known as black gold--coffee!
A little piece down the road we pull off when we see that flashing neon sign that boasts HOT!
Nothing like a fresh hot doughnut handed to you as you think over how many to buy!
All it takes is one bite to know this is heavenly!

With our appetites whetted for awhile we continue onto our destination. After an hour and half, we have arrived at our goal--the BBQ cook-off! Cooking teams line both sides of the town center streets--where to begin? Do we have a plan of attack? Purchase a fist full of tickets--oh, no, one of our party has ventured off to the first booth as we enter! Okay, no harm done and the taste of the rib bone was awesome--wonder if all booths will feature the same fall off the bone goodness!
The teams are varied and some have large festive booths while others are small and understated, but the food from each one we purchase is outstanding.
Some of the sauces are sweet, others are vinegary and sour, while others are just right for our taste buds. There are just a few non selling cooking teams but overall we have a choice from many selling teams. There are a few non traditional food items as well. Shrimp and sausage on a skewer
and mountain oysters followed with an amber bock beer.
If you are a first timer to indulge in this delicacy then you can proudly wear your badge of courage!

Summer Friday Nights

The weather cooperates this Friday night, even though it's a little on the warm side and a few clouds drift through the sky. We pack our cooler with our evening meal, load the car with fold up canvas chairs and head to Stapleton Northfield to hear one of our favorite local jazz bands-- Dotsero . Stapleton was the old airport for Denver, located in the center of I-70. Under pressure, the airport was moved to the boondocks, on the outskirts of Denver. Investors knew a good deal when they saw it and goobled up the area of the old airport and built several commercial ventures. The band stage faces to the east so the audience is facing into the sun. Until the sun is hidden by one of the widely spaced clouds or sets behind the stage canopy, you are either wearing a bill hat or shading your eyes with your sunshades and hands. It doesn't matter though as the music floats through the air to your ears and before you know it, your feet are tapping to the beat.

Quilters: What's in the Box?

Remember those Hostess cupcakes? Or maybe they are still around--don't know as haven't really looked for them since 1970. Faithful Quilter, Elaine, has a real stimulus package that we can actually use-- It is a "Vintage" 2009 Lunch Box featuring the "Hostess" cupcake logo. Head over to her blog Faithfulquilter.blogspot.com and leave a comment and you might be the lucky winner of this vintage lunch box! And who knows, except Elaine, what goodies are stuffed inside.

Well, this got me to wondering about those little chocolate cupcakes stuffed with fluff--from Hostess website:
CupCakes - The Captain of Them All
"Call it a cupcake caper: mystery surrounds who "invented" the original Hostess Cup Cake in 1919, although it was baking executive D.R. "Doc" Rice, who, in 1950 added the signature seven squiggles and vanilla-crème filling - a move that created the best selling snack cake in history."

And there are even recipes using these wonders. Here's one from Hostess website Hostess.com that sounds practically sinful!
BLACK FOREST DESSERT
16 chocolate sandwich cookies
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 package (3.9 ounces) instant chocolate pudding
2 cups milk
1 package (14 ounces) Hostess Cupcakes (8 Cupcakes)
1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling
1 carton (8 ounces) frozen nondairy whipped topping, thawed

Place cookies in work bowl of food processor; process until fine crumbs. Add melted butter and pulse to combine. Press across bottom of 9 x 13-inch dish to make a crust.

Whisk together pudding and milk for 2 minutes. Spoon pudding over crust.

Cut each Hostess Cupcake into fourths and arrange, cream-side up, on top of pudding. Spoon cherry pie filling over Cupcakes. Spoon whipped topping over cherries. Refrigerate several hours or until set.
Makes 9 to 12 servings.

Childhood never sounded so good!

Work Around the Homestead

During the month of June, to be precise June 7, we were at our granddaughter's high school graduation in Texas, a tornado touched down near our summer residence. There was no tornado damage to the house. But, once we arrived at the house and saw several roofing signs posted in neighbors lawns, we thought maybe there is something going on here--why so many signs? That was the first clue-- and then the knocks at the door by roofing companies wanting to inspect the roof--that was another clue. We called our insurance and they gave us the names of their preferred list of roofers. Soon we have roof guy crawling around on our roof and the report was "yes, you have a large amount of hail damage to the roofing". It seems when tornadoes are near, it drops hail and sometimes it can be huge. The shingles were dented in the numbers. The estimate was to replace the roof but first insurance company sent out an adjuster--well, not just one but three. They also crawled around on the roof and inspected the house with a fine tooth comb. The estimate came back--yes, bad hail damage to roof, but also two sides of the house, deck was scarred, outdoor chairs were damaged, grill was dented as well and the list grew. Okay, it is time to call in the repair people--first the roofers:Bringing in the shingles and unloading to the roof for safe overnight keeping.
Deck work; turning over the floor boards so it can be sanded. To sand off the paint of original flooring would have been cost prohibitive; alternative, to turn over the boards instead of replacing.


Working on the stairs!

Roofers came mid morning and worked through till dark to finish the job. Thank goodness! We were gone part of the day luckily. The pounding didn't bother me as much as the compressor running constantly!
Painters come next week and soon we'll have a new house!