Short Blog Today

Spun lots. Learned to ply. Suck at heavier grist/larger diameter yarns, partly because JW doesn't go slow enough - turns out my bottom ratio is not even 8:1 as documented, more like 8.8:1. Most wheels start with 3 or 5:1.

Haven't looked at the few snaps I took of college roof beams.

Had dinner with parents and a great-aunt I've never met.

Discovered the world's best buttertarts (possibly could be argued - but they're up there). They leaked all over my new tote bag, so I had some cleaning to do when I got back. Note to self (and anyone else reading) - keep buttertarts upright.

Off to bed now. More long day tomorrow.

Spinning Day 2, and a bit of ground covered

I don't think I need to bore blogland with the finer details of Woollen spinning or spinning in the grease. They are not mutually exclusive, the first is fine, the second is a bit messier and smellier than this knitter prefers to work with, but I can see the point of it in some cases. I guess I'll be doing a bit more of it in the coming months as my homework requires me to to make a project starting pretty much from the sheep. Well, I don't think I have to shear it myself but it starts after that.

I've decided I like Haliburton, though. Friendly town. Nice landscape. The College building itself is neat, a very odd structure that looks part cottage, part industrial. Here's the front entry:

There is an inscription in the door that reads "Inside these walls, the walls disappear". It's a quirky, somewhat organic structure, actually - I'll have to see if I can get more angles on it, and the interior.

I walked a total of about 9 km today - 1 in the morning when I started an aborted attempt to walk to school, a couple at lunch, and around 6, 5.2 of it at a good workout pace, after class. I went all the way around the lake, actually. Both the lunch walk and my evening walk were through parts of the Sculpture Forest, a trail on the campus dotted with sculptures of all sorts. This one caught my eye, as from the trail, it was obviously an installation but didn't look like much:



But when you walk around to the "back" side (from the trail) you realize it's the "front" side (looking onto the lake), and she is sleeping:



A little later in the trail, I glanced over my shoulder at a runoff channel reinforced with rock, and caught this little guy:


Either he's a professional gopher model, or I scared him (her?) silly, because he (she?) froze in that position for 5 minutes or more, giving me time to turn off the iPod, take out the camera, fiddle with some of the settings as it kept trying to focus on weeds in the foreground, and move closer a couple of times to boot. Just after this last snap, the little critter dove forward and disappeared into the rocks, under which I assume it has a den.

Back to the B&B with some run-of-the-mill Chinese take-out, and a bit of computer work putting up the class list, and I'm pretty much ready for bed at 9:30.

Spinning Day 1

Day #1 of the OHS Spinning Class seemed to alternate between intimidation, and being told not to be intimidated!

Well, not quite that bad. We started with a check-in, materials pick-up, "contracts" that basically were to state we would abide by the OHS guidelines, read them, and not hassle teachers with material in the book. There was a lunch social, followed by an hour talk about the program, curriculum, and requirements. We selected class treasurers, reps, and potluck coordinators - or rather, the first to volunteer were selected. I'm a class rep for "Ply 2" as we are such a big class we're divided into 2. I figured I'd put my hand up as we hadn't even gotten through lunch before I'd found a couple other Ravellers and started promoting Ravelry to non-Rav folks.

The rest of the afternoon was spent on a combination of vocabulary, terminology, wheel anatomy, and letting our course coordinator get a look at whether or not we could spin a rudimentary single. We all got a little bump of Corriedale to twist up, and the fun began right there as apparently most of us didn't know what our coordinator seemed to think were the rudiments of stripping and attenuating our roving. Those were two terms we had explained to us. I don't think anyone has actually explained "woollen" just yet, even though we were told repeatedly we were spinning woollen and this level was all about woollen and we weren't to spin worsted. Apparently, though, the definitions of woollen and worsted are for later. ????

Class was done around 5 and I headed back to my room, then out again to pick up a notebook, and find dinner. Dinner was Pickerel and chips, at a fish and chips place good enough to actually specify varieties of fish, but with some interesting manners among the staff. Both other tables in the shop wound up in arguments with the wait staff over what they had really ordered vs. what arrived at the table. On my way back, I discovered a little alley with a basement bakery dedicated to nothing but buttertarts. I guess I'll be stopping for a souvenir on the way home (I talked myself out of it tonight, then promptly had one with a decaf latte back here at the cafe).

Since our spinning gear was left at the school today, I think I may walk there tomorrow. It's quite a roundabout drive on the road, as the college campus is all the way around the lake from the B&B, however, there seem to be walking trails all mapped out that are much more direct. As long as I'm up early enough and can get everything I need into my backpack, I should be good to boot it. Monday and Tuesday I'll have to drive again both to take the rest of my equipment from the car in, and because there are after-class meetups to get to.

Here's my snap from Head Lake Park, walking home after dinner.

Haliburton Morning

So, here I am - in a free upgraded room with Wi-Fi - in Haliburton, Ontario, getting ready for breakfast and my first half-day of classes. I got out for a walk, about 4.5 km, in the morning fog. It smells like many a childhood vacation here, with a touch of Scottish Highlands (now that I know what Scottish Highlands smell like) but that may be from the rain. We had evening and overnight rain, so this morning was cool and foggy, but as I walked the sun was getting over the treeline and you could feel the fog burning away.

I'll have to put some effort into working the camera, as it's beautiful here, I saw a few potential shots while walking. However, my walk was exercise-focussed and I think trying to boot along at that pace is not necessarily compatible with camera. Given that class takes up 7 hours of the day (6 plus lunch) though, I should have a few more opportunities.

Something in the cafe downstairs smells devine, so I'm off for chow, now.

The Last Thing It Saw

This....



Is my little Sony Cybershot W80. Last year's B-day present. Now what, pray, could cause it to be cowering there, hiding beside the cat, small as she is, contemplating it's mortality?

OK, so, if I'm posting a photo of my camera, think about this for a moment. Ummm, yep. Something *else* must be taking the photo.

Here's what Sony was staring at in quaking fear. THIS year's B-day present ( a touch late, but so was last year's):


My new, slightly less little, Canon PowerShot G9. Yeah, I know, I'm spoiled.

Most of you are aware of the mad photographic skillz of he who is referred to as my Spousal Euphemism. I wouldn't presume to compete, but there are moments when I don't want to stand around looking for a tall hairy photographer. A year ago, I was content with pint-sized point-and-shoot utility. Still am, in many cases. However, enough of the spouse's learning rubs off on me that I have begun to understand some of what he studies and practices about lighting, and became particularly cognizant of it thanks to Ravelry, and my desire to better photograph my textile stuff. I had him walk me through a setup with his heavy camera ammo - remote flash, tripod, light tent and all that - and with it I can get some crazy good yarn photos. But, doing so then ties me to that equipment and being in the house to do it. It's cumbersome, and I don't want to haul around the weight he stuffs in that pack. But I wanted better lighting. So he then made the mistake of pointing me at the G9 when I started talking about the inadequacies of lighting with the little Sony.

My new buddy also has a hot-shoe flash, which can be used on or off camera, and angled up or of side for more indirect lighting with flash. I'm off to do a LOT of reading now, and a week of practicing with my spinning school in Haliburton.

Oh, here's one of my first, completely artless, fully-auto shots - singles spun up which I won't get to ply before camp:

Thunderstorms and sunsets

I am really liking today's weather. My favourable opinion is probably helped by not having been caught in any of it, as I managed to have just made it into the car or just into a building every time the heavens opened today. So I've had nice vantage points for watching and listening to it while being only slightly humidified because the windows are open.

I like thunderstorms. They're one of those things, like being away from the city lights and staring into a starry sky, or standing by the ocean, that remind me how big and awesome creation really is, and conversely, how insignificant my little problems and stresses are. Maybe it's a bit perverse to find potentially deadly natural phenomena comforting, but I do. Whether I'm worrying about my diet or global warming, somehow the smack and flash of a thunderstorm puts me a little bit back in the moment. Mother Nature, one way or another, can look after herself. Doing so might mean exterminating our pesky species some day, I suppose, if we don't smarten up, but she can. And she's pretty damned impressive to watch while doing it, too.

Crafty Little Happy Thing

OK, so I'm a bit dorky with how proud of myself I am about this, but had to share it on both blogs.

I made Monique a little add-on, so she can accessorize to match her spinning work.