Just Bragging

 This is a well deserved win for me and my family.  I have been doing the dreaded challenge of finding a new swim suit without any polyester in it.  As a woman I have always found swimsuit shopping very hard.  There are a lot of body image issues involved.  As a child Twiggy was the body ideal.  Even as a child that body ideal was impossible for me to achieve.  Not even Twiggy can safely achieve that image. 

Body image had nothing to do with what my bone structure. I happen to have a larger bone structure. It had everything to do with a families relationship with food. Growing up mine had a lot of starch with moderate amounts of meat and even fewer vegetables and mostly canned fruit and vegetables because it was cheaper.  Mostly classified as a poor Eastern European poor families diet in the 1960’s. An immigrants diet.  

Not to mention that my mom constantly reminded me how fat I was no matter how boney I was.  That nobody liked fat girls.  So a perfect recipe for disaster in my own body image necessary to be comfortable in wearing a swimsuit. 

To my complete surprise today, I found a swimsuit 2 sizes smaller than my last 2 swimsuit purchases. I was totally blown away by the fact.  After going to 2 different stores.  Then trying to find the swimsuits.  I was blown away that they had moved the swimsuits to the clearance section even before summer solstice.  This required 2 walks around the women’s department.  Trying on the swimsuits.  Finally finding one that fit.  I was too tired to even do the happy dance.  I was disappointed that there was not a bench to sit on while waiting to check out.  

I came home and slept solidly for 2 hours.  Waking up too late to make our planned dinner.  We landed up eating scrambled eggs and mixed vegetables with fresh fruit for dessert.  

TTFN

3 Days in a Row

 I have not been doing much cooking since mid February when I got sick.  Tonight I hope marks a turn for the better.  Tonight was the third night in a row that I cooked dinner for us.  I know that they have not been first class dinners gourmet meals that take more than 30 minutes to cook. I feel that I have to start with cooking smaller meals. I am still  not eating much. So here is the weekly menu so far.  

Wednesday was an egg salad made with hard boiled duck eggs, white pepper, mayonnaise and celery.  Served over salad. With fresh fruit for dessert. 

Thursday was tuna salad made with white pepper, mayonnaise and celery.  John had his on bread. I had mine on iceberg lettuce.  Served with fresh avocado and vegetables.  With fruit for dessert.  

Tonight I went all out.  Garbanzo bean pasta with turkey meatballs and a sauce made with 1/2 a jar of Yo Mama’s Basil sauce, 2  four ounce cans of mushrooms and one 6 ounce can of sliced olives.  Served with mixed vegetables and fresh fruit for dessert.

As I said nothing fancy, but it was either homemade or semi homemade.  John did have to wake me up from my second nap of the day so that I could cook dinner tonight.

You might have noticed that I specifically called out for white pepper to be used.  White pepper is easier on the body.  It does not cause the tummy upset or reflux that black pepper causes.   It is also somehow easier to swallow.  I have been using it for years and grind it fresh each and every time I use it.  I get my white pepper corns at Penzey’s Spices.  I usually go to the store to get my spices, but have bought them online too at www.penzeys.com.  They also have all kinds of recipes on their website.  

*** Penzey’s Spices did not pay for being listed here.  If you check out my spice rack about 1/2 my spices are from Penzey’s Spices.  This is a brand that I personally love and use all the time.  I purchased all my own spices.  Also I purchased my Yo Mama’s Basil sauce this morning, we also paid for that.  It is my favorite brand of pasta sauce.  

Plying Yarn

 I took my Hansen mini e-spinner pro on another test drive today.  I set things up to ply yarn.  It took me a few minutes to change the direction of the spin to clockwise.  There were a few bumps that were soon fixed.  The e-spinner is very intuitive.  I finished a skein and 1/2 of art yarn plying.  The only other way that I have gotten my plying so consistent is with a Golding or Forrester drop spindles.  I have not managed that level of consistency with either of my spinning wheels.  

I find it very interesting that I can achieve great results in plying with very old school spinning equipment and very new school equipment.  Just not on the middle ground of equipment.  I will have to ruminate on this for a few days to try to figure this out.  If you have any ideas or opinions, I would be very interested in hearing from you.  

My only regret with my Hansen mini Pro e-spinner is that I did not order 5 bobbins, I only ordered 3 purple ones to match the wood.  I am sure that this is easily fixed when I have time.  

I do need the input from my younger readers.  Today while shopping at Sephora.  I was checking out and the sales person who I did not know called me mom instead of ma’am.  Is that a new thing among younger people to call older women mom or was she just not sure of the etiquette of the situation.  I was really taken a back by this.  Then probably spent too much time overthinking it. If this is a corporate thing, just stop, it’s rude and some people who are older have never had kids so they don’t want to be called mom. Please feel free to weigh in on this.  

TTFN

A First

 This is my first full bobbin for my Hansen mini E-spinner Pro.  It is a combination of Dorset Horn and Charollaise wool.  I started with the 4 ounces of the  Charollaise Wool and had enough room to add 4 ounces of the Dorset Horn Wool. Since this is going to be art yarn, I saw no problem with using 2 different breeds of sheep on the same bobbin. If you are a breed specific yarn spinner this is the point that you slowly walk away and do your own thing.  I am just tasting new to me fibers on my e-spinner. 

Tomorrow I will ply it with nylon novelty yarn.  Finish processing the wool.  Then weave it into scarfs.  They should make lovely holiday gifts.  

We tried a restaurant that we had not gone to in 6 years.  First off they did not have half of what I ordered.  Second, they asked John what I was going to have instead of what I had ordered, because of course they were out of it too. Really asking a man what his wife wants to eat. This is so 1950’s.  So my dinner consisted of 2 dinner salads, charred chicken and vegetables.  I really want to know how in world do you char carrots and leave a badly chard carrot to serve. If this is a new style of cuisine, I strongly object.  What did that carrot ever do to anyone. They also skipped the edamame that I ordered too.  I nibbled on some of John’s extra veggies too. Did I mention that the air conditioner was limping along too.  It went well with the food.  I think I will give it another 6 years before we go back. I will skip the name of the restaurant to protect the hard working wait staff.  

Where did Monday Go?

 Although I am feeling much better. My energy level leaves much to be desired.  After sleeping in and then taking a solo trip to Target for a few things,  it still required a nap after lunch.  I am snailing  my way back to health.  Maybe more like the inch worm  moving very slowly to get to where it is going.  I might now be able to move faster than a snail.

On the spinning front I should be able to get about 8 ounces of spun roving on the bobbin.  That will give me about 2 skeins of art yarn.  The art yarn will then be used to make holiday presents for the kids who use the clothing bank I support. Mostly handwoven scarfs because they go so fast, especially with bulky yarn. Don’t worry I have plenty of roving and novelty yarn to use up.   

TTFN

My Hansen mini Pro e-Spinner

 I am practicing with my new Hansen mini pro e- spinner.  I am slowly getting the hang of it.  I am using up white fiber that I have wanted to taste or for the non spinner to try.  I am practicing a little more each day with an hours limit so I don’t tire my hands out. This is so that I save some hand time for knitting later.

The spinning is getting a little better each time I sit and spin. I should be up to 15 Micron Merino wool by late this year or early next year.  As with anyone I teach, I  am starting out with a higher micron count for easy of learning.  The higher the micron count the less slippery the roving or fiber will be. As with all things spinning if you spin left handed like me you just do the opposite of what the directions in the book say.  Just for your information the left handed spinner draws the roving out with their right hand and use the left hand for control. 

I have finally found the right e-Spinner for me   My advice is to try a lot of different e-spinners before you buy. When you find the right one it will click just like your spinning wheels or drop spindles.  

In the picture below I have about 5 ounces of spun fiber on the bobbin have you noticed that my bobbin matches my e-spinner?  Once it is filled, I will ply this with novelty yarn and turn it into holiday present for kids by weaving one of a kind scarfs.  I really do hope that the kids will like them.  

****Please note that this e-spinner is a birthday present from my husband. The comments and opinions are my own. I am not being paid or compensated to write this blog post by the Hansen Company or any other company. ****

Setting Things Up

 Today I opened my birthday present. I know it was early. But I am having a hard time coping with my current health issues.  So we opened my present after dinner.  It is a Hansen mini e spinner pro.  I started putting it together and immediately ran into the left handed verses right handed spinning issues.  I have sent in my question and as soon as I have an answer I can start spinning.  

Now off to knit.