Void where prohibited by law

I love the months of April and May.

I am able to sit on the front porch and not be pestered by the skeeters. Soon, I will have to drench myself in bug repellant in order to be outside. A major drag. I hate being so sensitive to mosquito bites - I welt up and itch like crazy. I detest the repellant, too. Damn allergies.

Winehouse's babies are thriving! A few have their eyes open, and most have erect ears. Itty bitty ears. Adorable, they are.



Outside, 8 little bunnies have been discovered living under the methodist church that abuts our back yard. Four white, two brown, and two black. Jackie Brown is the alleged mom. They have the itty bitty ears, too. Good neighbor Nancy keeps track of and feeds many of the outside kids.

The Thursday evening before my fiber event, Floppy was killed by a neighbor's dog, Red, in my good neighbor Nancy's yard. I was distraught. Floppy had just figgered out out to get of the backyard enclosure the week before. Because of her wry neck, she was not the most swift of bunnies, but still. This is not the first time that Red has summarily executed one of my kids. On my property or on my good neighbor's property. I cradled her warm body in my arms and visited Red's dad in tears.

"Jerry," I said, "Look at what your dog has done." (Again)

What followed was a drunken diatribe that boiled down to his opinion that it was my fault. Not his or his dog's. I did not threaten him, his family, or his dogs, but he did threaten Buster and my bunnies. Hearsay is that he also threatened me and Sweetie - not to my face but once I had left the area. A BB shot cracked one of our upstairs windows shortly thereafter, but we cannot prove a thing.

City dwellers will say that I should have called the police. And I did consider doing that. In the end, I decided not to involve the sheriff's office.

I did not want a tit-for-tat redneck feud.

Sweetie says he will take steps that this will not happen again.

There are times I absolutely hate this town. And this life.



But I do love my bunnies.

Not for Home Use

Back and recovering from the fiber festival weekend. The over-stimulus of these events does me in every time. The drive to Troy, Ohio was longer than I anticipated and the rain and horrible traffic didn't help. I arrived 90 minutes later than planned, wrung out. Hippie Art Chick (HAC) and I made the wise choice of a Super 8 Motel over camping in the rain and cold. The machete was not needed after all.

The show was good for me; I made my nut and more. Other vendors were not so fortunate. Fuzzarelly Fibers was the only booth offering brightly colored angora blends, plus discounted knitting needles. There were a lot of dyed sock yarn and roving and one interesting booth with arty totes. HAC has the best designs for rug hooking that I have ever seen.

The fairgrounds were nice. (I wish my county had such nice facilities!) This was the second annual Upper Valley Whatever, and I think I will return next year when it will be earlier in the year and a two-day thing.

My wares are not cheap (but not outrageous, either) and they are different. Those that drooled but didn't/couldn't buy may very well save their pennies and buy from me next time. Time it takes, young Jedi.

The only thing I bought was a sock darning egg-on-a-handle from the folks at SisterMade. (Maid?) Sweetie is hard on his socks, and we are frugal, so I do mend the ones I hand knit for him.

Zippiknits asked - what in the world did I do to my arm? It happened whilst I was clipping Sugar last week. With small, very sharp and pointed scissors. (If you would like a pair, let me know as I am a Gingher dealer. Then you too can stab yourself in the arm.) Somehow Sugar jumped and I grabbed and the next thing I knew, the scissors had jabbed me and the blood fountain began. It didn't get an artery, but rather a vein - possibly. I think the stab was maybe a half to three-quarter inches deep. Thank goodness that I have that padding of fat that comes with Ethel Merman underarms. The wound isn't infected so I expect the bruise will be gone shortly. When folks asked about it, I told them that I cut myself shaving.

Winehouse's babies are thriving. All of them. Amy has taken to chasing the cats - Millie especially, which just cracks me up as Millie is a constant torment to Reese's. Turnabout = fair play.

Hand Wash in Cold Water

More Web Plagarism

The federal government is sending those who qualify a $300 - $600 rebate:
• If we spend that money at Wal-Mart, or on cheap useless crap, the money will go to China.
• If we spend it on gasoline it will go to the Arabs.
• If we purchase a computer it will go to Taiwan.
• If we purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala.
• If we purchase a good car it will go to Japan.
• The only way to keep that money here at home is buy to the only products still produced in the USA -- prostitutes, cabana boys, weed, beer and tattoos! Do your part!

“When authorities warn you of the sinfulness of
sex, there is an important lesson to be learned. Do
not have sex with the authorities.”~ Matt Groening

Best Name for a Fiber Group:

Rustic Tarts & Old Farts Gathering in Martinsburg, WV

Reduce Speed

Well shit. Somehow I deleted the post I just spent a half hour writing.

Long story short. Stabbed myself in arm. Sweetie says not to worry about taking a machete this weekend, as I am not to be trusted around sharp and/or pointy things for awhile.



Two of Winehouse's babies.



And Winehouse on the lookout.





And here is something I found on the Interwebs -


THE HILLBILLY'S TEN COMMANDMENTS
Posted on the wall at Cross Trails Church in Gainesboro, TN.
Jes’ One God
Put Nothin' Before God
Watch Yer Mouth
Git Yourself To Sunday Meetin'
Honor Yer Ma & Pa
No Killin'
No Foolin' Around With Another Fellow's Gal
Don't Take What Ain't Yers
No Tellin' Tales Or Gossipin'
Don't Be Hankerin' For Yer Buddy's Stuff

This Side Up

I am strangely not psyched about this weekend's fiber festival in Troy, Ohio.

Part of it must be anxiety about going to a new place. (I'm not a great traveler.) I've been going to Greencastle, either as a buyer or a vendor, for 8 years. The first time I went, I was in the care of several veterans. So now, there are no surprises. This weekend, however...

Hippie Art Chick and I will be camping, and that is out of my comfort range. I think I've camped out before - I just can't seem to remember when. She has the tent and sleeping bags and stuff; all I need to bring is my pillow. Sweetie wants me to take a hammer or machete - you know, just in case. Geez. (Amanda, I promise not to freak or anything.)

I will get over this and I will be fine. I don't know why I am surprised at my unease, except - isn't this what the drugs are for?

On the plus side, I have dyed some of the merino/angora mill roving and cranked it into batts. Nice! I've spun some of it, too. There are teeny tiny neps in it, from less than ideal length angora, but in the spinning it matters not. I also had the brilliant idea to sell four ounce balls of the plain roving! du-u-u-h! I am the marketing jeenyus.

I may or may not do another show before the Fiber eXchange Guild's gig in October. (Which is The Best!!! and is a Must Attend!!!) There's a show in September in Illinois that I may do. I really should be more gung ho about selling, but at the moment, I am having a hard time leaving the house. Maybe Sweetie, (or Amanda,) can come with me to Illinois. I don't even go to my Fuzzarelly.com website to update. My head hangs in shame. Luzer!

Received the Placating Tax Refund today. It will help pay for some work we had done on the barn. A retaining wall began giving way several years ago, and structural damage to the barn was imminent, if not already underway. This was a must do.



The barn is old, extremely well built, and definitely worth saving. Here's the work in progress, with our house in the background.

We voted today. How strange it is that today's outcome in Indiana actually makes a difference! I hope you all voted and plan to vote in November!

Strike on Box

I got nothin.

Had an allergic reaction something, something I think I ate. Taking Benadryl and sleeping too much and still not feeling chirpy.

Sweetie is working way too much and I miss him.

Winehouse had her litter - 5 white, 1 black and 1 white with black eyes.

I will be in Troy, Ohio this Saturday for a fiber fest.

Store in a Cool, Dry Place

In an effort to decrease the predator presence* around here, I took Sheila's body down the road a piece to an old family (not my family) cemetery and laid her in the woods there, on the wool she had collected for her nest. Sweetie suggested that we get a little bunny statue for the site. I don't know who was affected worse - me or him. Unless someone complains, that area will become our new Tibetan burial ground.

Saw Wednesday yesterday. Sweetie and I feel particularly fond of Wednesday and we are always glad to see him/her in the back enclosure. Here is Wesnesday and mom, Floppy. Gosh, isn't that sweet?

Claudia's four babies are thriving outside. They pretty much stay close to home but it's hard to get a good shot of them because they are always running or frisking. They won't keep still.

The barn bunnies are all fine, thank goodness. It is clipping season again, so the living room is coated with a fine layer of angora.

*Many of the yard bunnies have suddenly disappeared, amidst sightings of dogs clenching bunny bodies in their mouths. Also, a hawk got one, and cars got a few others. They breed prolifically for a reason. The girl bunnies seem to stick closer to home. Home meaning our house and the neighbor's house. Bambi, Jackie Brown, Ramsey, and Barbara Bobo are all seen regularly. The boy Jump and two other white ones are still around. (One of the white ones has the loveliest lion head mane!)

Here is a shot of my hair and flowers. Did anyone like the pattern??? Did anyone read that post?



"From my earliest childhood I wanted to be a genius, but my parents were against it…" ~
playwright Nikolai Erdman

"A study in the Washington Post says that women have better verbal skills than men. I just
want to say to the authors of that study: ‘Duh.’”~ Conan O'Brien

"Those who believe in telekinesis, raise my hand." ~ Kurt Vonnegut