A Call to the Families

This is such a difficult time to blog about anything fiber-related. In an attempt to talk about something fiber-y, I thought I would post a picture of some recently dyed skeins.These are 3 of 5 skeins inspired by Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising Series. I ran out of vinegar with 2 skeins to go. Left to right they are The Dark is Rising (book 2), The Grey King (book 4), and Silver on the Tree (book 5). I can't decide if I want to sell them on my Etsy site or make some socks out of them and create a one of a king shawl with the leftovers. I've got some time to mull it around. Tomorrow should hit the 40's which may make it my last dye day of the year. I prefer a little ventilation when I am dyeing (especially on the kettle) which means that I have a limited number of days out of the year assuming I don't want to freeze the minions, which I don't. I'll finish up the 2 skeins left to dye in the series and perhaps a few more for the shop then. In other knitting news, I have finished a larger piece which has yet to be gifted, hence no photos, which means I will start banging away on some smaller projects. I love crossing things off my list!

For those of you who visit the blog for a minion update, I'll catch you up starting with the annual trip to the local Orchard. I met my Grandma D, SIL A, and nephew for a little pumpkin perusal. My nephew seemed to enjoy himself :)

Little man is not pushing him down, he was actually patting wee man's head and making sure he was alright when he started to lean forward.
Little miss, on the other hand, was in a bit of a funk.
Little man always enjoys himself at the Orchard and spent much of his time this year testing his strength.
I put the Holiday/stealth projects on hold towards the end of October to quickly sew up a Halloween Costume for little man. He decided that he wanted to be an elephant and little miss used the monkey costume from last year. It was getting dark out on Beggar's Night so I thought I would postpone pictures until later when the sun was up. Do you think little miss would put hers back on? No way! So, here's little man's costume.
I think the warm days have come and gone for the remainder of the year. The hubby and minions tried to clean up some of the leaves; the minions were a huge help! In an attempt to give the hubby some I-work-better-alone-time, I took the minions for a little walk around the block.
The next day we were greeted with this. I swept the deck clear of leaves the night before, honest!

So.... onto the "calling all families" part. The Holidays are fast approaching and the weather has started to cool and it got me thinking. This might be a fabulous time to get out the pens and the paper! I have always enjoyed learning about History -- not necessarily the dates of the big battles and such, but more the domestic aspects of everyday life. What people wore, how they spent their free time, what their Holiday traditions were, where/how they went to school, what they accomplished, what they're proud of, what they always wanted to do but never got around to actually doing... Little musings, memories about others, what their weddings were like, what they ate for dinner every Sunday, hobbies, family recipes, music, likes, dislikes, scents, habits, quarks, that little something about so and so that just drives you absolutely batty... That sort of thing. Funny family stories that have been passed down... Old pictures! How many times do you come across an old photo and no one has any idea who is in the picture or where it was taken because the people that would have been able to tell you have already gone? Start writing stuff down! This goes for my family as well as the hubby's. And for anyone else who is reading this for that matter. Ultimately I would like to combine the information into some sort of a book that could be passed down. I have already started logging some of my memories and have been hounding some of you to do this for years now... Just a friendly reminder if you will.

Do you need an example or 2? Here are two little gems that both occurred around Christmas time. Growing up, Mom, Dad, my Brother, and I used to go out and chop down an actual tree every year. That all changed when I was in the 4th grade (or thereabouts). Dad hauled the tree into the living room and was getting it all set up when we noticed that we not only took home a tree, we also took home a furry little woodland creature :) If memory serves it was just a mouse, but a large one at that. What makes the scene so vivid in my mind is that my Mother and my Aunt M took one look at that mouse and jumped up as high as they could on the sofa screeching at the top of their lungs "Oh my God! Where is it? Get it! Where'd it go? There it is? Don't push me off this couch! I lost it again, where'd it go? Don't just stand there, get it!..." It was all rather comical and I think Dad did manage to catch the thing. I think. Mostly I just remember those 2 weenies jumping up and down on the couch. See, it doesn't have to be anything extraordinary. Another rather vivid memory of mine took place at my Grandma D's house a few years ago during our family celebration. Most of the men had gone downstairs to take part in a pool tournament and there were a few of us still upstairs in the living room. My Cousin R had come in to ask a question and in waltzes my Grandma D. She either lost her balance or didn't realize that my Cousin R was standing there but she runs into him and twirls him around almost taking both of them to the ground. Why is this memory significant? It's not really, but during this whole scene Grandma D accidentally lets one rip and the rest of us in the living room were laughing so hard we had tears running down our cheeks because we couldn't tell who was wearing the most horrified expression, Grandma D or my Cousin. See Grandma D -- if you don't check in on the blog from time to time you'll never know what I may jot down :)

Nothing fancy, just write down what made you laugh! Or those special memories like the time my Great Grandma D sat down and tried to teach me how to crochet while she was battling Cancer. Journal it, make an outline, have someone else write it down for you. Just a suggestion...

Here's a few last glimpses of Autumn's brilliance.