a simple yarn

Have you ever heard a deer whistle?

Do they whistle in North America?
They certainly do in Europe!
And it’s a creepy, fearful, haunting, yet somehow fascinating sound.
Imagine shrieking child mixed with screech owl blended with a little sea gull.
Wishin’ I had a little audio sampling for ya.
But sadly, I don’t.
Happy Halloween!

Having turned the emotional corner in this transition, the itch for fibre work is starting up again. The time is coming when I will get out the tools to knit, sew, weave or spin. Yep, that’s a good feeling. It’s coming….but not just yet.

Now, not all of the ‘settling in’ process has been unpacking boxes….nope, a good portion of time has been spent in furniture make-overs. As much as I like the occasional IKEA piece, I’m more of a ‘looks-like-it-has-a-bit-of-mileage-on-it’ type of furniture lover. Perhaps because I, too, have a bit of ‘mileage.’

So, over the years I’ve dived into skips…(North American translation = dumpsters)…and have come out with some super treasures…antique ceramic hot water bottles turned into bookends, a mirrored wardrobe door now sporting coathooks in the hallway, antique school cupboards housing the yarn stash and fibre tools.

But I have to say that I also have generous friends and with a bit of muscle power and lots of sandpaper, their donations to the house furnishing endeavour are beautifully ‘new’ again, yet keeping their bit of history in the dents and scratches.

Julia’s wrought iron and brass bed with a new coat of paint

Old dressing table from the Lodge shed, which used to house hens and freshly laid eggs

Erica’s simple chest of drawers with a lovely secret compartment!

Another old-with-a-new-purpose item is the relocated stone trough in the yard. In times past, I can imagine it being used for the horse-drawn coaches pulling into the stable yard. But even in modernity, it’s quite handy to wash mucky wellies…!

It’s a classic case of three-steps-forward-two-steps-back.

Ok, so it’s taken me longer to figure out which end is up. So blogging will take a back seat for the moment, you understand. Anyway, how many pictures of cardboard boxes do you really want to see?

‘We can start with who we are and what we have today, apply gratitude, then let it work its magic. There is no situation or circumstance so small or large that it is not susceptible to gratitude’s power.’ —MB

As I walked back from taking the Kiddies to the school bus today, I heard the bell on our house ring throughout the valley. What a haunting but beautiful sound. Yes, after about 4 months of transient living, we now have all of our worldly goods under one roof. We have slept two nights in our new dwelling. I am grateful.

But yet, I have found it difficult to be grateful. Hmmm……why is that?

I have to confess that this has been one of the more challenging moves…even more challenging in some ways than moving from the US to Ireland. So perhaps it is because my focus has not been on what I have, but rather, what I do not have.

Well, I don’t have—
Electricity. Ok, we’re not living by candlelight, mind you, but we’re nicking electricity from the Lodge and simple things like using the kettle causes severe brown-out. So, no oven baking for me for a while. How many stove-top recipes can I conjure? Waiting for the local energy monopoly to come out. Waiting….waiting….waiting….

Washing Machine. The knob broke upon delivery and as with any appliance, it’s not just a matter of picking up a new one. Waiting for a replacement machine and encouraging the Kiddies not to get dirty. Kinda tough to do when you’re surrounded by dirt…

Living Room Chaos

Phone. A land-line is coming, but not sure when. Thinking about taking up a ‘smoke signals’ course to communicate with the rest of civilization.

Mobile Reception. The beauty of this house is that it’s well insulated. And that same warm, toasty insulation also cuts out any mobile phone waves that previously snuck in or out.

Water. Right, I do have water. It’s brown. Stream fed and as natural as can be. Friend-Lucy-Of-The-Lodge calls it ‘peat filtered,’ claiming its benefits. Pat-The-House-Builder calls it ‘bog water.’ That can’t be good. But my cups of tea have a lovely deep amber hue…

Beds. Three out of four of the family are camping it, while Son-Alex is tucked up nicely in his own bed. Have ordered mattresses and am waiting for the delivery people to ring up to schedule delivery. Oh wait, no phone….rats.

Fibre Chaos

Sofas. So, going from the Usually-Furnished-Rental-Accommodation to the Unfurnished-Lotsa-Square-Footage-To-Fill means new sofas. That’s a good thing. Waiting for the delivery lads to ring…..oops, no phone….

Alright, having said all that, it’s time to apply a little gratitude to the situation, being thankful for the familiarity of small, but important pleasures in life.

The comfort of the familiar

And even with all the hiccups and the extra work to clean up the mold and mildew that attacked our belongings from the extremely wet summer, at the end of the day, amid the surrounding chaos I will let gratitude’s power work its magic on me.

Apologies—no fibre, no pretty pictures, no tasty desserts. Just a question…What in the world are they doing in Eastern Europe? I’m stumped.

I have a site meter on the blog. No biggie, many people do. Don’t really check on it much except…..when I see that I have a inordinate amount of hits from Poland. Hmmmm….is there a new crop of knitters growing there? Curiosity peaked, I look at what drew them. And this is what I found—

Without fail, this photo, which I posted during the I’ve-Just-Washed-My-New-Mobile-And-This-Is-What-I-Had-To-Replace-It-With trauma, is what brings them to this blog. Why is that?

It’s a mystery to me…..

To mis-quote some toothless old coot, ‘It’s cold in them thar hills!’

It is definitely getting chilly up in the mountains. Misty. Foggy. And yes, most of my autumn and winter wear is still packed in boxes at the bottom of an unreachable mound of yet more boxes. So, what’s a girl to do to keep herself warm? Right, whip up a quick pair of handwarmers, of course!

Went out to Craftspun, Home-Of-Fibre-Friends-Warren-And-Jenny, and picked up a skein of Kilcarra. This time the colour choice was grey, to minimize country dirt and grime, but still sporting a few interesting flecks of blue, orange, gold and white.

The obvious choice was to do another pair of Fetchings. Have done enough of ‘em in the past that it would be a very quick knit indeed. But, hang on….what about the Fraternal-Version-Of-The-Handwarmer-Called-Dashing? They’re certainly longer, which is a feature I really like.

That’s it then. A pair of Dashings for me. Have one done in no time and am beginning the second. As with its Fetching-Sister, it’s a quick knit. Just an bit of adjustment here and there for smaller female hands. But I really like the longer and less frilly cabling. And that cabling is placed in such a way as to fit snugly at the wrist. Yippee!

Yep, toasty hands are on the horizon!