Meanderings of a Mermaid

Golly, but doesn't the passage of time go faster and faster every year? Those temporal landmarks whiz by more and more quickly as we become so familiar with them. For me a lot of my landmarks have to do with the seasons and also my annual snowbird migration. The blossoming of the daisies heralds the start of summer and my birthday. At the same time I am looking for wild roses. Guests visit us at camp, usually after the lupins are done and the heat of the place is well established. When the snow buntings are spotted in the fall, I better be packing up for the move south. Seems I only just got to camp, and yet I find myself in the southern home already. I am still able to accomplish a few things, even though I often feel that I could use more time. Am I parcelling up my time into too small of chunks. Trying to do too much DIY maintenance myself, and too many different crafts, outdoorsy fun, and the daily preparation of meals and cleaning. ? Maybe. But at the time I am doing it,...

Here is my method of purling. The noise in the  background is the water pump running and filling the tank. Also you might hear some birds. The project is a scarf made from scraps of yarn.

Ten years ago today I purchased this little rock house in the Hill Country of Texas. I was widowed and single and looking for a big change in my life. Not even three weeks previous to that point in time,  I had retired from my full time work (April 3) plus I sold and closed on my big house in northern Ontario, on the very same day.  So the idea was to come down here to Texas in the winters and return home for the summer.  Once I was sporting this terrific little home, I enticed a certain Mr B.S. to join me in all of life's adventures. So that tenth anniversary is yet to come (November). But retired life has treated me well and it is wonderful to be retired at a young age.  All is good. On to the next ten years!!

Get a look at what followed me home recently! I have gleefully adopted " Courage "  - my new addition to the family. WELCOME. The original owner of this loom was William Dyer, a famous weaver who lived in California and Washington State. He made very fine damasks with this loom.   A very large loom manufactured by Oxaback in Sweden. The model is called "Ulla Cyrus". It is a vertical countermarch with 16 shafts and 18 treadles. Plus it has the additional, optional unit draw and pattern shaft draw. Two different drawloom attachments. The weaving width is 63 inches.  I picked up this beauty in the north part of Texas, and the loom was already disassembled. This photo shows just a fraction of the gear. It was great fun to meet the current owner. Here we have returned home and both the box of the truck and the 5 x 12  landscape trailer are entirely filled with loom pieces. Completely. It is a lot of gear. And this is a glimpse at a small p...

Before After What happens to pecan trees when you are not around to water them, is that they die. The Texas summers are brutally hot and dry. A few years back, when we were removing the trunks from some trees already cut down, we found evidence of underground irrigation. A very old system. So it is apparent that without the aid of a lot of water, these pecan trees are not surviving well. I think I only have six trees left, of the nineteen that were on the property when I moved in. I am coming up to my ten year anniversary in this home.  It is going to take some adjusting to the reality of these big gaps. I love trees and am always very sad when they have to go. Yesterday three trees were taken down by safe methods.  I am glad that these trees will never be able to damage our buildings. But I am saddened by their loss.  Before After Well, on to better news. I am always crafting and teaching about it. Recently I have been helping a couple of gal...