As the Spindle Turns . . .

It started out with sales being down more than normal. Each event so far has had some drop, some more than others. After discussions with several other vendors, the bottom line is that the media in an election year scares people to increase viewership. "The other side might win, OMG, the end of the world!" This is part of the 24/7 news cycle. It is killing my business because I didn't expect it. Scared people save their pennies. So far I have heard economic fears, "we could become another Greece, you need to stash cash at home" to "there's another derivative bubble and the big banks will fail". Then there is a very real heroin problem locally. Violence is up. Then there's the presidential race, the terrorist threat, North Korea, and a few other loose cannons in the world. Somehow, immigration is the least of our worries, but that doesn't matter to the media. No compassion there.

So I get an email from a gardening leader that I follow. She says one in 80 Americans is now a prepper. Some may call that hitting mainstream. Her advise is something that hits a lot closer to home. Where you live is the most important thing for surviving a system collapse. If the grid goes down, nuclear reactors will overheat. How close you live to a nuclear power plant is very important. The east coast is especially dense in these plants.

Just out of curiosity, I looked it up. An old national map from 1998 shows three in our area. Afterall, Westinghouse built the dang things and they are based here. But I thought Beaver was decommissioned. It is right at the end of the Pgh Airport runways. If a plane misses, kaboom! Yes, not well thought out. So I looked it up. Turns out, one out of three was decommissioned. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver_Valley_Nuclear_Generating_Station

And our cash strapped government gave permission to frack at the airport, see http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/12/business/energy-environment/frackers-trove-under-airport-in-pittsburgh.html?_r=0

We don't have an injection well anywhere near there at least. No earthquakes. Oh wait, there is a Class II injection well. It's location? South Beaver. Does this sound like a recipe for disaster? So you can now watch my blood pressure go up. We are about 35 to 45 miles away. There are still sirens along some of the roads around here. So of course my government is going to protect me. Here is what they have listed for evacuation http://www.pema.pa.gov/planningandpreparedness/Documents/Beaver%20Valley%20Power%20Station%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

It turns out that we are where the people in Beaver will evacuate to when things fall apart. Our county has two schools that will turn into decontamination centers and folks will stay at the county fairgrounds. Interesting. I would still feel a whole lot better if they shut Beaver down entirely. Those are very old reactors. They are still too close to the airport and fracking operations. I think a bugout bag is a good idea but where would I go that wouldn't be in worse shape? Well, there's nothing like fear to sell a product. Hmm. Now how can I apply that to yarn? Be afraid! Be very afraid! Buy yarn now! It could save your life! Why? I don't know, but it could save your life! Visit http://UrsulasYarn.etsy.com

Always lots to do after a show. I enlisted my husband's help to evaluate the website and figure out what needs to be done to improve it. There is a lot. I was disappointed with my service provider too. They changed their billing setup twice this year. It's not user-friendly nor is their customer service helpful. Plus I need a shopping cart feature. Hard to do with Windows 98 and dialup. My husband is mapping the links first. He has a real computer. I have too big a learning curve to catch up with Windows version 10. I prefer an apple but cannot afford one. We are looking at Shopify and a few other programs.

Next comes restocking displays. More yarn to be wound. Unpacking the van is also on the agenda. I have to go through publishers next. Too many publishers got sold or just plain went out of business. My supply of how-to books is way down. Today I paid bills but tomorrow I need to restock/reorder after running to the bank and hardware store. The dye cook stove is out of propane. I have oregano soaking in a kettle. I have several skeins to dye before Shennandoah Valley Fiber Festival.

On the weaving front, I finished the Neopolitan Ice Cream scarf and am starting on a similar colorway, but more in the chocolate malted milk color range. Neopolitan is a Saori style warp, randomly pulled colors and textures in the yarn. Malted milk will be a set pattern of stripes. I got to play with my colored pencils this morning to design it. Pictures soon!

As I was out trimming back the oregano for the dye pot, a gentleman stopped to tell me about his recent experience at the bottom of my driveway. He was walking along the sidewalk, texting. When he looked up there was a young buck blocking his path. It was eating my garden from the bottom of the driveway. The buck was just starting to grow antlers. Seems the deer felt threatened and reared to scare the man off. I think the deer won. The poor guy knew there were deer in the park but had never seen one quite so close before, especially in a residential area. I told him our buck has ten points on his antlers and a harem of three does. Sounds like there will be another group before long. Think I'll be planning fences soon. As the garden is mostly weeds and a barberry bush at that point, no damage was sustained. The young man confirmed my suspicions that the deer are tormenting the poor yipe dog up the hill. When it barks, I should have stones to throw since I can't shoot in the city. (Add gravel to the shopping list).

Well, to bed. Tomorrow's chore list is already long enough. At some point, yardwork and winterizing the house need to be done. There is never enough time in fall.

One of the items on my 2016 list of goals was to get some red wigglers and set up a small vermiculture tub. I have watched a University of North Carolina class on why worm castings, how many worm castings to add and how to feed, maintain and house your worms. Let's start with why. Adding worm castings to your soil causes plants to react as if you gave them a growth hormone. Add between 5 and 30 % worm castings to your soil or potting mix. Less than 5% has no effect. More than 30 % is a waste and can actually have a negative effect on your plants. Seeing as my plants seem to have some issues, this is a good idea. Delphiniums should grow about four feet tall, normally.



So I found a sale and a place that accepts paypal. They are in the same state and the temperature outside wasn't too hot this week. So I ordered my worms from Uncle Jims. Service was good. Explanations and instructions were good. Worms arrived on time alive and well.



I happen to have three useless totes that nest. I bought them for the business but the sides are too angled to pack merchandise in them. They have lived a full life and are now being repurposed. The bottom bin is to catch excess water, otherwise known as compost tea. The liquid can be added to water to give your houseplants nutrition, every couple of weeks. The flower pots are to keep the second bin up out of the liquid.



The second bin needs drainage holes and air holes for the worms.



This is how they stack. There is a third tote that will be used later when the worms need to migrate so I can use the worm castings. What are worm castings? Simply put, it is worm poop. I drilled holes in the third tote so it is identical to the second tote. When I need them to migrate, I set the third tub on top of the open second tub and put kitchen scraps and bedding (damp shredded paper) into the third tub. Since there is no more food in the second tub, they move upward to the new food. Then I remove the second tub and use the castings in the garden or in my potting mix.



Preparing the second tub: To start with, I placed a window screen over the bottom holes. This keeps the worms from falling out into the compost tea down below. I cut an old screen to size with tin snips. Then I wet shredded paper and laid it down on the window mesh. On top of that, came a mix of coffee grounds and old wood shavings. Then dirt and the worms which were packaged in peat moss. The instructions said to add a half cup of water and cover with damp newspaper. I added a quilted set of towels (3) to act as a barrier to fruit flies. Youtube has some great videos.





The worms should be active in 3 to 4 days. I did see a few moving around so I know they are alright. Fingers crossed. They do not eat fresh kitchen scraps. Some people freeze the scraps to help the plant cells break down. Others toss the kitchen scraps into a blender. I like this idea better. I never remember to thaw my own dinner a head of time so I'm not likely to remember theirs. But coffee grounds can go directly into the bin and I get those daily so no food issues. The worms get fed every couple of days. They double their numbers in 90 days so in theory I can add more bins. They never overpopulate a bin. Apparently, worms are self-regulating in that regard. They don't need much attention, just temperatures between 50 and 80 °F.

Two less than optimal days. It's easy to get caught up in Facebook and other social media. Add in my husband and the entire day is shot. He has a traumatic brain injury. I was gone to Pennsic for two weeks. My daughter was home at that time. Now she is off to WorldCon. It's my turn at husband care. I made sure he was bathed and hair washed. I got him involved in activities like putting away silverware, folding clothes, and minor chores where he can participate without losing his balance. We are working on stretching his muscle-bound legs so he can bend. It is a wonder that his legs aren't breaking with muscles that tight. I get to play physical therapist until medicare is reinstated. Hopefully, soon. So two loads of laundry, mowing, unpacking the truck, washing a backlog of dishes, grocery shopping, cooking, vacuuming, and so much more awaited me upon my return to civilization. No work has been done for my business at all. Today that changes.

I had to train my husband not to interupt when I am working. This is hard since he needs human contact. I still need to process orders, give customer service, and register for shows. Some yarn did get wound. New product was added to the website. I managed the post office. The coffee ground bucket went back to Starbucks after a hiatus. Weeding, bill-paying, and straightening still need to happen too. I rearranged the garage as I unpacked the truck from Pennsic. That was a start. As clothes are cleaned, I am re-evaluating the garb trunk. Some need to find new homes. Others are worn out or never really fit. It is nice to see a neatly folded pile of clean, dry clothes in the trunk.

Currently, walnut rum granola is being made. It smells wonderful. Then on to knitting another hat. I need 50 by Arisia (January) It takes 3 to 4 days to finish one knitted felted hat. If I knit too long at one stretch, I injure myself and cannot work for 6 weeks, so slowly it goes. The pile of not-quite-right hats is waiting for design embellishments to fix them and make them sale-able. First I have to find them all. Hemp and linen need to be skeined and dyed. Orders compiled for the next show in September, which is PA Fiber Fest. The webpage needs an overhaul. So much to do! Now if I could just find the battery charger for the digital camera . . .

Pennsic begins. Rain is probable. Going to take it slow loading in on Saturday and Sunday. Costumes by Loren's is at Confluence. She will load in Monday after the convention. Monday, I have more doctors to coordinate and a meeting about the new property tax assessment. The car went through state inspection. Going to cost a small mint. She needs two new tires and has a cracked fog light deflector. Parts won't be in until Monday. Great. So I get to drive a car with expired tags. The fine for this is $375. Yes, I have paperwork to prove I am waiting for parts. The parts for the car are over $500. Ouch.

I found a doctor in network who can deal with my husband's shunt. His staff knows what questions to ask. I got release forms to his Oregon doctor so we have the original shunt setting. Now to make sure information is received on this end. Then I have to check back with social security to make sure they reinstate Medicare. Still no idea why the system canceled him. It appears to be an internal thing. Then Xray, MRI, and another Xray to be scheduled after Pennsic. There is more bloodwork required too. Hopefully someone can figure out why he is having balance issues.

Today linen and hemp hit the dyebath. Experiencing color shift issues. A jar of dye will do two batches of yarn. The first dyebath gives great colors. Yay! Now just try and repeat with the same yarn and the same dye. Nope. Not a snowball's chance in hell of duplication. Today Golden Oak gave me a nice orange. It's really close to the nice orange I got from Butterscotch. Apparently we are having a hard time creating yellow. But trying to duplicate Loden, a nice solid green, I got this pukey looking green with way to much yellow gray. I color corrected by adding navy to it and now have a forest green instead. But I just did a forest green. I wanted more of a grass green. So I have two really close oranges and two really close forest greens, but no yellow or Midrealm green. You never know what you are going to get out of a dyebath. That's why I like it. It's a mystery.

And then the custom hat was finished and one of the previous hats was ripped to fix the crown depth. The van was loaded. Rhubarb wine was racked. Bunches of yarn wound. Lists compiled so I don't forget important things like ropes. Oh yes and dinner was cooked. All in all a productive day. Rest before the madness begins.

I've been attempting to help a friend move. I say attempting because she experienced a series of unfortunate events. Her buyer renigged twice. She had a new house all lined up to move in to, contingent on the sale of her existing house. Her buyer committed fraud because it was a cash sale to a developer. He provided a bank letter, proving he had the cash. He used the cash on a different purchase. This is illegal. Another investor of his was killed and that guy's money is tied up in probate. Not our problem. There will be a lawsuit. I won't say more. Twice she brought me down to Texas to drive her moving van. The first time, the developer waited until the last minute and asked to reschedule. Furious, she asked for money to insure he was serious. That money was to cover her expenses she incured as a result of his rescheduling the closing. I took Amtrak from Sturtevant to Dallas. She housed me in a hotel and flew me home again. There were many other costs as well. I also lost three days of prep time for Pennsic.



The second time: My friend rented two 26' vans each with a tow dolly for her cars. Her mother just passed so there was one truck for her stuff and the other for her mother's better possessions, as well as plants. Lots of plants. A loading crew was hired, vans rented, utilities cancelled, mail forwarded, guys to build a fence at her new house, unloading crew, you get the idea. The second time, the vans were already loaded when the buyer cancelled the closing, less than an hour beforehand. There was a second buyer waiting for the chance. That buyer is reputable. The bid was less but okay. New closing scheduled for August 5th. Despite pleading with the owners of her dream home, they refused to allow her to rent the house before buying it. Two weeks would have netted them a thousand bucks. But no. They may cancel the sale. We still don't know. She has a backup property in mind if they cancel the sale. I drove one 26' truck plus the car tow dolly behind from Dallas to Wisconsin. It was exhausting. It took two long days to get there. She drove the other truck. The next day, cars were unloaded. Dollys returned. Storage rented for the 2 full trucks. The plants will die except for the prickly pear cacti, unless they cook inside the trucks in this heat. It saddens me.



My friend then turned around to head back to Dallas with her three large dogs in a Honda CRV as she had to borrow money to store the vans. What a royal pain! She had to be there for the new closing anyway. For my part, I flew home from Milwaukee. I met folks from Wisconsin and New Orleans and had great conversations! Nice way to pass the morning. We talked about rail and the transportation industry, climate change, human cloning and mapping the genome, robotics, self driving cars, family, and so much more! Glad to be back.

SCA 50 Year was an adventure. All the kingdoms had their own history displayed. The armor through time was my favorite, from milk bucket helms and freon cans to Master Valerius's beautiful hand crafted helms that are used today. The original Iron Maidenform worn by Aramanthra the Vicious was in attendance as made by Master Einar Lutemaker. The wall of the dead brought tears to my eyes, each kingdom displaying banners or shields of those who have gone before us. Elashava bas Riva pulled the display together and more names were added as not everyone was listed. Well done! Horses of all sorts paraded down the prominade with the Great Court upon their backs. I've not seen such pagentry in a long while. There are no videos yet as it happen the last day. Opening ceremonies are up and many other videos. https://youtu.be/AazF1B-5fjU



The heat was hot and the storms fierce but we survived to tell the tale. The finery as worn by many made me swoon with more than just the heat of the day. The merchants of the Known World provided the trappings to continue the dream. Music was routinely performed in the marketplace. Many food vendors were also on hand from our favorite, The Goode Bakery to local fare, like PI_Indy with a mobil brick pizza oven. The site appears to have been choosen as the best for the horses involved. Classes and demonstrations happened throughout the ten day event. It was an event to remember and boast that you were there.



With more threat of rain expected Saturday night, we pulled down dry canvas after the market closed at 6 pm. Packing was completed with help by 8 pm. I arrived home by 3:30 am. Many other merchants were gone as well. Vivat to the gentle lady whose name I did not get. She carried many items over to my van and helped speed me on my way.

My garden was glad of my return. I spent time today in the shade weeding. More squash (kumi kumi) was planted as well as carrots and parsnips. The same rain that chased me home will be here by morning. The deer have walked through the carrots going to seed, knocking them over, but I will have an abundance of seed for next year. The black hollyhock is well over 8 feet tall. I think the sunchoke will overtake it next month. Another tiny bunny was hiding in the oregano. Last year's eggplant reseeded so we now have 5 plants. And the pink Shasta daisy is very similar to the Echinacea. The santolina is blooming and the coreopsis is almost done. Strange noises at dusk indicate a bat living under my front porch awning. Could have been another animal. Hard to say as I only heard it. I am drying the brussel sprout seed for next year. Columbine seed heads and French sorrel were added to the upper shade tier garden. Subsidance occurred in the bed as the soil settled around the hugel twigs from heavy rains. I shall have to video tape a tour at some point. The buckeye thinks its autumn and started dropping leaves. It's a very confused tree.

It's good to be home.

Now wishing I had another week to prepare for the SCA 50 year. I started by streamlining my displays. I am in a borrowed space and cannot spreadout. This is good. I have been jealous of Carol at River's Edge who streamlined her whole business. She got rid of merchandise that didn't move quickly, was cumbersome and made one really coherent 10' x 10' booth. Her displays rock. I have had a hard time putting this into practise because each event has some of everything that sells. My only constraint is that it must all fit into my VW van. And it does. So how to cull the herd?

So for this event only, the magazines were cut. The Folkwear patterns were cut. White Wolf and Phoenix will have 5/2 cotton. Egill will have shuttles and tools. So that leaves me with:

* bone fiber tools
* weaving DVDs
* fiber arts books
* period hats
* Yarn -Cotton, linen, hemp, alpaca, wool, Mongolian camel
* shawls and ruanas

Odd books were cut. 10/2 cotton was restocked. And now the latest brain storm, hand dyed wool sewing thread. So I am winding 12 skeins a day. I mordanted 12 each in alum and tin. Tomorrow I mordant with iron and then copper. Forty-eight colors in all. I cooked coreopsis today. There is coffee, rhubarb, and onion skin. Alkanet and madder. Maybe indigo if I'm brave. There will also be naturally dyed sock yarn too.

For the Great Lakes, I finished a crate of hand dyed 10/6 hemp which is great for wash clothes, shopping bags, and even tank tops. It gets softer the more its washed. So that will be new. This morning I woke up and realized I had not packed fleece. So I weighed out corriedale and polworth. I may have more hemp roving by Pennsic but not yet.

The check list goes on. After the scorching sun had receded tonight, I mowed. Wanda's cardwoven belts need to be checked and boxed. She needs them for a Viking Festival. So they will go into the mail before I leave. This morning the Social Security case worker called. More delays. We need to redo the application from scratch. It makes no sense. Don't ask, but in the end will be a bigger check.

Rain didn't come but it was breezy. When I went to nibble on the mulberries, they were mostly sour/tart. The sweet ripe ones are in the next county. They blew off the tree. Only one black raspberry bush is ripening. Today's yield: 8 berries weighing in at .009 pounds. Yes, they were on the dry side. Not much nutrition in the yard today. I think Chronographia found some strawberries. Mostly, the strawberries rotted before ripening. They need pine needles. The slugs like the berries, followed by ants. Chive cuttings are suppose to be good too. Our chives are anemic this year, barely alive. Basil is loving this weather though. Basil from seed in the herb spiral (direct sow) is overtaking the seedlings from February. Dill replanted itself. The sweet potatoes are not sure about living or dying. Some turned yellow. The pumpkin turned yellow too and is dying just like last year's squash. I have a melon transplanted under the Buckeye, so far so good. Cucumbers are in the front yard as well as in the backyard brick raised bed. We planted eggplant from the farmer's market as well as parsley. Just transplanted the butternut squash into the front yard. Praying it doesn't turn yellow too. Wonder if it is a bug doing it?

The front yard looks like a jungle. After the first wave of tulips came columbine and violets, and now coreopsis (a month early). Parsley from last year is being allowed to go to seed as are three different species of carrot. They are huge. There are also nasturtiums still green, calendula, tons of coreopsis, and bringing up the rear, sunflowers that the birds spread, a sunchoke, and black hollyhocks. Sandwiched in between are fingerling potatoes, garlic, skirret, and potato onions. A butterbur lettuce planted itself in the path. The bok choi bolted very early. I left one for seed. I've two tiny asperagus under the hollyhock. Hoping to plant more each year. Our Czech potato-leafed tomatoes got put in the back. We'll see how they do.

Green and purple beans were planted in the window box. They like it. No rabbits up there. Peas are growing on the wire fencing around the Asian Pear tree. The seed was free from a garden center near my cousin's house. Those peas are as tall as the tree. When they said "giant", they weren't kidding. Legumes are such great nitrogen fixers. We were also blessed with some San Marzano tomatoes. Bought for pizza, the seeds decided to grow by themselves. I planted them around the plum tree. It has the old portable animal cage fence around it and they will be easy to stake.

Still growing in containers are leeks, florence fennel, swiss chard, and blue cherokee tomatoes. Lovage and Alexanders will need homes soon. Many can be transplanted for fall gardening. Leeks will be ready to eat next spring. And I scored some ramps at the Farmer's Market. They like wet shade. They are happy under the lilac at the bottom of the drainpipe.

The last small section under the buckeye has a Russian black icicle tomato, two onions from the store that started growing, that golden melon, two giant brussel sprouts going to seed, and one lonely Welsh onion. The horse radish is big. The comfrey keeps getting cut back for mulch. That's the progress report so far. The way back tier is still decomposing. A few peas grew and radishes are struggling. The garlic around the cherry is a hard neck variety. It has shoots that will go into hummus. There is one lonely black raspberry back there too. It is very shady in that section. Eventually I hope to have gooseberries back there.

So far, no sign of the black plum tomato volunteers. I have seed but I had hopes. I love drying them for pizza later in winter. Oh well. Off to bed, perhaps it's finally cool enough to sleep.

It's finally cool enough to go into the attic. Going through bin after bin of fabric, I spent a lovely time reminiscing clothing of the past. Searching for fabrics for art. The old made new again. The perfect fabric to print on. Chronographia will be doing a night market on June 18th. Her best sellers include her prints on fabric as shown on etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/277613214/luna-4x4-solar-printed-sew-on-art-patch?ref=ss_listing

So the search was on. Finding gems in the right palette and texture, smooth for printing and reducing the amount hidden away in the attic closet. Great fun! Then I got her to play with me to pull colors for my next scarf. It helps to have someone push you into other colors, outside your comfort zone. Hint, there will be coral and red tones next on the loom.