Write (a blog)

Wow, I haven’t blogged in a while. Sorry about that. I hope you keep up with me via Plurk, cause I’m rambling about something on there nearly every day.

So this is what’s up. Last Monday I had my two right-side wisdom teeth pulled, along with a deep cleaning on the right side of my mouth. A double whammy that hurt my mouth and Pierre’s wallet. I hadn’t been to the dentist since I was a kid… probably 20 years ago. This was an elective procedure, but I knew they needed to come out.

I didn’t know what to expect. After the monster needle to numb me up, there wasn’t any pain, but the pressure was HELL. I thought she was going to rip my whole jaw out of my head. She didn’t, thankfully. Just the teeth. The bottom wisdom tooth did not want to leave, and had some massively curved roots to hold it in place.

After a week of healing, I went back today for more torture. I hoped the bottom one would be easier than last time. No such luck. This one was even more resistant, causing the doctor to not only cut the tooth in half, but remove bone in order to get it out. Did I mention that they *were not* impacted? The root had a 90 degree bend in it.

The top ones were no problem at all. I imagine that’s what all of them are like for normal people. Regarding the bottoms, I was awarded with “yours were some of the toughest extractions I’ve ever done. Thanks, I needed the workout!” Wee. Go me. I still had to pay though.

So here I am, unable to chew anything even remotely solid and missing a good portion of my head. Those teeth were HUGE. But it’s over, and after a couple weeks of healing, I will never. have. to. do. that. again!!!

I’m on good pain pills though. Doc gave me Vicodin. Pierre says I can pretend I’m Dr House. *smirk*

Pierre and I took a little trip over the weekend. We drove 8 hours to Bryson City, NC where we met up with a small group of New Beetle owners from around the country, with one purpose in common.

To drive US 129 and the Tail of the Dragon.

This relatively short 11 mile stretch of road, beckons drivers from around the world to tame the dragon and experience its 318 curves, yes, three hundred and eighteen curves in 11 miles, while nestled on the side of a mountain. Tight switchbacks, steep hills and sharp drop offs create an exhilarating drive that will lure even the most experienced drivers.

But I was a chicken and had Pierre drive. eh heh heh…

We were in a bug-a-van (that’s a caravan of bugs, get it?) of 12 New Beetles.

The entire loop that we drove totaled more than 100 miles which included the Cherohala Skyway where we reached an elevation of more than 5000 miles. And where we were forced to stop because the fog… no, the clouds were too thick. We were driving IN the clouds and this silver beetle in front of us all but disappeared.

On the flip side of the clouds, we finally made it to the main attraction, the Tail of The Dragon. No, it’s not a roller coaster, or a theme park. It’s a road. A free access public US highway. But its the best driving in the country although it can be dangerous and people have died. The speed limit is 30 MPH, however frequently and very, very easily exceeded.

(no, that’s not a bug!)

What a ride…

That’s just a few of the pix I took while Pierre drove. After the drive, all 12 bugs stopped for a photo op.

And then I bucked up, put the top down and and took the wheel myself.

I drove the Dragon twice. And Pierre didn’t scream once.

See the rest of the pix here.

I don’t think I’ve ever stalked the UPS man as intently as I did today, because he was bringing me this!

I bought a Strauch Petite with brush attachment. And after spending a few hours playing with it, the love affair has begun. Its a little small, as to be expected with the name “Petite”, but was still a hefty $450, so a bigger one was out of the question. That’s ok, I’m in love, love, love and can’t stop doing the happy dance!

For my very first “practice” batt, I carded some pretty lavender mohair.

That went well so I jumped right into putting together an “art” batt. Which I think is code for whatever-the-hell-I-decide-to-throw-into-it batt. This contains miscellaneous wools, some icicle shiny stuff, and some of the previous lavender mohair.

Fun fun! I have alpaca, silk neps, bamboo, angelina, sari silk, of course wool and more just waiting to be carded. More “art” batts (heh) coming soon!

(By the way, if you’ve been to my equipment gallery page and have seen another drum carder there, it’s true. I have another drum carder. But it was handmade and has never worked just right. But that will change now that I have something to compare it to.)

I’m sorry I haven’t blogged much lately. If you’ve been reading my plurks (there to the right), you’ll see that I’m much more active there because I’m impatient and lazy and it’s quicker and easier to write one plurk, rather than a whole blog post.

Especially when there’s not much going on. Really, life is just trucking along.

But Pierre and I reached the 17 year mark in our marriage last weekend. It still sounds funny saying that we’ve been married that long. We don’t feel that old, we don’t look that old, so I’m fairly certain there was some sort of illegal activity going on when we were wed. And I don’t know where these teenagers came from. The boy will be 18 this year. He can’t be mine.

I’m. Not. This. Old.

Anyway.

In other news, I’ve been knitting, and spinning and spinning and knitting. You’re surprised, no? Have a look-see…

So far, in my spinning career, I think this might be my best work. Superwash merino, Navajo plied. Laceweight, 380 yards. Fiber from DK Knits.

I ended up ripping out the sock, and started over on size 0 needles, and then frogged that too. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with this… I really have issues with knitting with my own handspun. Apparently.

Here’s a couple more finished yarns. The first is my own handdyed BFL. The second is a One Night Stand from Sugarbee Studios. These two, are of course, just sitting in a basket. Because I have issues…

In the knitting world, I finished my Dumbledore socks. The yarn is Opal’s Harry Potter line, Dumbledore colorway. The striping is matched up, even through the heel, gusset and cuff. Yes, I’m awesome like that. Squee!

And am currently working on Stricken. Love the yarn (Lorna’s Laces in Clara’s Garden). Love the pattern (Cookie A, hello!) Love the socks.

Too bad this is Florida, where its always 95 degrees, and I hardly ever wear socks.

I love my sewing machine!

This is the first attempt at turning my little Edgar the Ram into embroidery. More tweaking is needed, but I couldn’t help doing a little dance in my seat as I watched my machine stitch him before my eyes! SQUEE!

I have been sewing, sewing, sewing! I just added 5 new On The Town Knitting Bags in the Casual variety to the shop. They’re denim on the outside, cotton print on the inside. You know, for those jeans n tee shirt days or if the froofroo-ness of brocade and satin just doesn’t jive with you. I, myself, like the froofroo-ness, but I also love the denim bags. They’re so casual, yet pretty.

I made 2 of each of the 5 styles including one with a red hot flame interior, and another in pink camo with black and white skulls. Hee! Lotsa fun making those. See the Etsy side bar to the right, or go right to my shop!

Today, I’m working on a new, smaller, less expensive, no frills version of a tag along project bag. It’s intended to be a little more economy-friendly for both you and me. They’re quicker to make, take lest materials, and will cost you much less than the $30 full sized version. Watch for them to be popping up in the next couple days.

In other, but related news, I remade my shop logo and drew this little sheep head as my logo. Which I then sent off to be made into a stamp. Which came today, which made me squee with glee!!

The lil guy’s name is Edgar. Which is what I name lots of my little sheepie things. The first raw fleece I ever worked with was from a ram named Edgar, so the name has some sentimental value to me. All boy sheepies should be named Edgar, Eddie for short.

I’ve started another side hobby, as if I needed another one. But at least this one has the potential to make me some money…

Money… to spend on my other hobbies. Heh heh.

I’m now dying spinning fibers. Hand painted or kettle dyed combed tops and rovings are now available in Silver’s Shop! Go forth, buy stuff and be happy!