just updated my Guatemalan blog

Not going to post anything more here until I get back, so here´s the reminder to go look at it from time to time...exciting adventures already, and I just got here!

Tien

I've created a Guatemalan travel blog!

Click here for the Guatemala Travel Blog! (There are also links to it on my website, in the Travel section and the Writings section.) I'll be updating this as I travel, to keep it separate from the daily-living one.

Tien

Everything happening at once...

Gosh. Where to start:

I'm still in negotiations with Openwave. They're going to get me a revised offer letter today (I hope!) and I'll sign and return it tomorrow. It's cutting it close, but I think it'll be OK. Otherwise they'll have to fax my offer letter to Guatemala...and while that would be highly amusing, I'd just as soon skip the melodrama.

I'm running around doing various prep work for Guatemala. I am SO glad my reservations for Thursday didn't work out and I'm leaving on Saturday. I've just finished my shopping, and thanking goodness that a lot of my stuff is still left over from Southeast Asia, and that I'm experienced enough at traveling to have a good idea what I'll need.

It turns out I'm going for three weeks, not two. For various reasons, it turned out to be easier just to start at Openwave on May 16. Ooh, hurt me. :-)

I've also just gotten a phrasebook and a crash course in tourist Spanish (Borders is so handy), and will be studying that over the next few days. It promises to teach the very bare-bones minimum of Spanish in about three hours--I hope to go through it once now and once on the plane. I may study a bit more once I'm there.

Along totally different lines, I had a great conversation with the owner of Lacis (the lacemaker's shop, in Berkeley, and also Lacis Press, which publishes books on fine textile work--e.g. Margaret Stove's book on lace design)! He is very interested in having me teach a workshop on Southeast Asian textiles, and teach classes on knitting lace. He also thinks my book idea is a good one, and that perhaps if I teach classes on lace knitting I'll be able to develop the book from the syllabus. So that is a very very VERY wonderful thing!! It's exactly everything I'd hoped for. Once I get back from Guatemala, I'll put together course proposals and send them to him. It will be a lot of work, but I'll be on the way to a future in teaching and writing about fiber arts.

Umm, what else? Oh! I was in a car crash on Monday. Esmeralda, my lovely Ford Ranger, was in the shop for some major work, and I got a rent-a-truck for the day. I got T-boned on the driver's side (!), but fortunately neither of us were going very fast and I walked away unhurt (as did the other driver). I suppose I probably should be more shaken than I am, but I've been so busy I haven't had time! Still, I'm feeling kinda lucky to be walking around.

Isis is doing much better, and the culture came back negative, which is a really good sign--she may have another "bug", but it is NOT Pseudomonas, and that's all I want. She had a really nasty Pseudomonas infection a few months ago and the vet was worried it might become chronic--well, now it's pretty clear it's not, and that makes me VERY happy.

I think that's basically it--I'm going to try to set up a travel blog before I go, so the Guatemala trip is separate from the "daily life" blog.

Tien

I think I'm going to Guatemala

I spent today paging through travel guides at Borders. It looks like Belize and Costa Rica have the best wildlife travel (looks glorious for ecotourism!), but Guatemala has a richer crafts tradition, particularly in weaving. Friend of a friend who went backpacking through Central & South America recommended a place to study weaving--looks like there's plenty of opportunity to spend time with local people, which would also be really cool.

I also looked briefly through other areas, like Peru, Brazil, Nicaragua (which is apparently quite safe these days), and even toyed briefly with the idea of going to Africa. The main argument against Africa is the expense--it costs $1500-2000 for a round-trip ticket. Once I have my financial feet back under me, I'll think about it...but even then, I'd want to go there for at least two months, it's not really worth it for short trips. I guess I'd better wait until Openwave lays me off again. LOL!

But Guatemala sounds like fun, it's pretty cheap to get to, even cheaper to stay (Rough Guide says under $10/night is available almost everywhere), rich cultural tradition (think "Maya"), and lots of local craftspeople. So I think that's where I'm going.

Now I'm dusting off all my travel bits and pieces, and thinking about vaccinations. Guatemala doesn't have anything really exotic, so malaria, typhoid, and hep A/B are pretty much all I have to worry about. Malaria is only an issue in a few places, so I'll do some more research on that, get my typhoid and hepatitis vaccines, and that should be it. I have a basic med kit (which, by the way, I never used ONCE the entire time I was in SE Asia), so dig out the travel clothes, pack a drop spindle, and I should be set.

I'm not sure what I'll spin while I'm traveling--my current project is a mix of wool, silk, and angora, and would felt instantly as soon as it got into the tropics. I think I'll revert back to my old travel ways, and bring some dyed silk top, along with my trusty silver spindle. Or maybe my Bosworth Mini...

I have wanted to try making a "Fire" shawl--I'm envisioning it in shades of gold, orange, copper, red--so maybe I'll dye a few ounces of silk in those colors. I really won't be able to spin much of anything in just two weeks (the travel shawl took a good six months!), but I could get started...or maybe I'll dye some orange and black silk and make TravelingTiger socks.

Hmm...that has a certain appeal...I could carve my own bamboo needles on the way...

Ah, well. The point is: I'm going to Guatemala (unless I change my mind in the next day or two), I'm leaving towards the end of next week, and dammit, I'm going to have FUN. :-)

Tomorrow, however, I'm going up to Berkeley to have lunch with a lace expert (the guy who owns Lacis), and I'll ask him if he knows of anything interesting in South/Central America. If he does, it might change where I'm going.

The Traveling Tigress is very excited to be out and hunting again. :-)

The Traveling Tiger (my little stuffed tiger, who went with me through all of SE Asia) is also very excited at the prospect of taking off again. He's a very well-traveled tiger--friends of mine have taken him all over the world, and he's going to Turkey in the fall. He loves the idea of Guatemala, and hopes to meet some of his friends there--I've told him there are no tigers in Guatemala, but he just says, "People think there aren't. That just means they're extra-sneaky."

So, the Traveling Tiger and I will go off in search of his relatives.

Here's a photo of The Traveling Tiger (nestled in my backpack)...doesn't he look like a suave, experienced world traveler? All he needs is a little Indiana Jones hat and a bullwhip, and he'll be right off.

Tien

Retracing the AIDS Ride--adventure, part II

Anyway, it's getting pretty late, so we grab food and head out. I take off my old, beat-up Timex digital watch, and put on the Movado. It's of course totally ridiculous to be wearing a $3000 watch while traipsing through the desert in shorts and a T-shirt, but dammit, it's a beautiful watch and I'm going to wear the damn thing, dammit! (I admire it every five minutes, all day. It's gorgeous.)

We head off down the 101, making good time. As we whiz past the fields, I glance over and remark on a large bird (probably raptor), flying by. Rob says, "Yes! It is a hawk...I'd say it's a red-tailed hawk...and it's being chased by a red-winged blackbird!"

I look over. Sure enough, there's a little black bird flying after the hawk, and every so often it bounces down and thwacks at the hawk.

"Wait. That blackbird is picking on a HAWK??"

"Yeah! The hawk probably threatened its nest or something. Notice how it's faster and more maneuverable than the hawk? Hawks are pretty clumsy near the ground...and it can be a real problem for the hawk, if they pull out enough of its primaries." [Primaries = big wing feathers.]

"Really?"

"Yeah! One of my neighbors down the street, Dale something or other, has about half a billion dollars, and a cloud of women buzzing around on his estate. One of them is a hawk rehabilitator. I ran into her one day because there was a log blocking the road...I was taking it apart with a chainsaw, so she stopped and chatted while I was working. She had a hawk with her, on the front seat."

"Of the car??"

"Yeah. I looked at it a bit, and finally said, 'Umm, your passenger appears to be pulling the stuffing out of your upholstery...is that OK?' She looked over and said, 'Oh. Yeah, they do that.'

"Then he started flapping his wings, and I said, 'Aren't you worried he's going to fly away?'

"She said, 'You know, he keeps trying to fly. He's getting very depressed about it.'"

This particular hawk, it turned out, had been picked up at Shoreline Park, with all his primaries missing. She thought he'd been swarmed by a flock of starlings. Without its primaries, a hawk can't fly, and usually dies since it can't hunt from the ground. He'd been brought to her for rehabilitation, basically to keep him until his feathers grew back in.

Wow.

I think, "Hmm...I wonder if I could get into hawk rehabilitation? It sounds like it would be fun..."

Then I sternly remind myself that I already have two cats and three snakes, and am considering getting two or three more snakes...and like traveling...so a hawk, which has to be flown every single day, is just out of the question. But I file it away in my memory for a later date...perhaps, if/when I move to the country, and become an artist...??

Still, I make a note in my mind that I want to meet this hawk rehabilitator, if I ever get a chance.

We continue on, and take lots of photos and make lots of commentary along the route. I take photos of the route, and the roads, especially in the areas where I've already sketched out scenes. Rob gives me a running commentary on the plants and ecological climate zones that we pass, which is really useful--now I can say "cottonwoods" instead of "green tree-things, slightly brighter green than those darker green tree-things."

(The darker green tree-things, incidentally, turn out to be digger pines, which--says Rob--are "a pine with HUGE pine cones and a very tasty, edible nut. Too bad the cones grow about 60 feet off the ground." Which reminds me, Rob and I used to go out hunting for the native pinon pine nuts, which are ready sometime in October-November, and are fantastic in flavor--big, mild, tender, and almost juicy, a far cry from the dried-up little wizened nuts you find in stores. The last few years there hasn't been much of a crop, so I ask Rob how he thinks this year's crop will be--he says he doesn't know, but will keep an eye open. We agree that we'll go pinon-hunting together when the new crop ripens--I don't know the best locations, and it's more fun anyway to go in pairs. Rob, on the other hand, doesn't know anyone else crazy enough to go hunting pinons with him--they are covered in incredibly sticky sap that's almost impossible to get off, especially if you climb up to get the cones, as I usually do. I wrap up in disposable clothes and plastic, from head to toe--shower cap over hair--and it still takes an hour or three to get de-resined afterwards.)

Anyway, we keep going, and by 5pm have covered half the route. (We have a brief moment of amusement in Bradley, the lunch site for AIDS Lifecycle, when we spot an honest-to-god cowboy, on horse, driving two cows down the main street of the town, which is also U.S. 101. I took photos, I may post them if I get a chance.) We're driving off to one of the rest stops when Rob says, "Hey, do you mind stopping for a bit? There's a plant I want to look for, it's right by the road, and I know where it is."

I say, "Sure, why not, we've got time," and we pull over. I'm familiar with these botanizing runs--he and I used to go into the desert looking for interesting plants all the time. (Which turned into snake-collecting runs eventually, but that's another story.) Rob goes off with the camera to take photos; I take my drop spindle out, stand by the car, and start spinning. It's so nice to be able to stand around, and stretch my legs a bit.

Eventually, I notice that there are tiny explosive sounds coming from the hill above, like gunfire; obviously, there must be a shooting range up there somewhere.

And then a bunch of military personnel carriers (humvees, jeeps, et al) drive by with guys in camo. I figure they're going up to the military reserve, and it's probably related to the firing noises--maybe they're training on a shooting range or something.

By now Rob's been gone for quite awhile, and I'm getting a bit impatient--I figure he's gotten distracted with something and is haring off after some weird plant or animal (this being one of the reasons he's my ex: easy to distract, very unreliable). But, I'm enjoying the afternoon, it's beautiful scenery, and I'm getting some glorious white angora-silk-merino blend spun up, so I'm not too worried. (Besides, it was awfully nice of him to come along on this trip with me, not to mention the gorgeous new watch which I keep stopping to admire.)

Around then a state police car comes by, sees the truck sitting by the side of the road, and pulls up behind us. I think, "Oh, how nice, they've come by to make sure we're OK," and wait for the trooper to come up and talk to me.

He doesn't, and I wonder vaguely why he isn't. Well, maybe he's just filling out reports or something...if I wanted to know, I'd have to interrupt my spinning, walk over, and talk to him, which I'd rather not do (I'm enjoying the solitude and peace of the afternoon), so I keep on spinning, humming to myself.

At this point, Rob turns up, hails the guy, says, "It's all right!" and he takes off. Naturally this makes me a bit curious, so I ask him what happened.

He said, "Well, they picked me up on surveillance, and sent military and state police after me."

I said, "No!!"

He said, "Yeah. There I was, taking photos of this plant, and I see guys coming up to me with guns."

"What did they want?"

"Well, they said, 'What are you doing here?? You can't take pictures, this is a military installation!'

"I said, 'I'm a botanist! I'm taking pictures of PLANTS!'

"They said, 'How do we know you're a botanist??'

"Ask Father Leuwenhoek! He knows me, he'll tell you I've been here before." [Father L. is the guy who runs the church, nearby.]

"Okay, but we'll need to see your photos."

[They take the camera and start paging back through the photos, including mine.]

"Why do you have photos of all these roads and bridges???"

"I'm traveling with a friend of mine! She's working on a book about the AIDS Ride!"

"Yeah, right. Hmm...I guess they do come through here every year."

"Well, OK, I guess we can let you go, but don't take ANY more photos, and call us the next time you want to come over. Oh--and we're going to have to wait a minute; we need to check the terrorist watch list before we can let you go."

*chuckle* Only Rob.

(See, *I* can go take photos, or drive around, and not get arrested. But practically every time Rob goes anywhere, he gets into trouble of one sort or another. It's just that some of us have the sense not to go taking photos in a military installation while they're doing training exercises...)

On the way out from the installation, we saw lots of Jeeps and Humvees driving by--some with pretty fearsome equipment, like missile launchers. I guess they must have been doing some pretty serious military exercises.

The rest of the day went largely without incident; I got the photos I needed, and we covered nearly all the route. I didn't get photos of the campsite, but as I plan to wrap up the chapter just as the riders come into camp, I won't need it until I start Chapter 4. Now all I need to do is transcribe the tape, and print thumbnails of the photos, so I can start writing.

(I just got a used transcriber off eBay, so I can finally slow down the tapes enough to start transcription. I can't wait to try it--I think it'll be MUCH easier with this machine.)

Oh, and Rob and I have agreed that, sometime in June, we'll take a day or two and scout the entire route--and he promises to try *not* to get arrested, this time.

LOL

Tien

Retracing the AIDS Ride--adventure, part I

I had a little road trip planned for Friday: retracing the route for Day 3 of the AIDS Ride. I'm writing my sample chapter, and having serious problems with describing the route, since I really don't remember any of it. (The two times I rode, I was concentrating on riding, and the time I drove, I was concentrating on not hitting cyclists.) So I asked my ex, the eccentric millionaire, to come along. He's a botanist/geologist/lots of other stuff, and his expertise in California native plants is virtually unparalleled.

He arrived about an hour later than expected, which is about par for Rob. He also arrived with a friend/acquaintance in tow, a woman-in-distress (he has a habit of picking them up) with various medical problems and an (emotionally) abusive boyfriend. Rob wanted me to talk to her, since I used to work with the Support Network for Battered Women, & could point her in the right directions. Unfortunately, the boyfriend called up, they had an argument, and she decided to bail on the trip, so Rob and I wound up going off alone. I did pull her aside briefly to chat with her, and determined that she was in no physical danger; I offered to talk more if she ever wanted to, but I don't think she'll need me; she seems to be doing pretty well (under the circumstances). I may call and ask her for makeup tips though--hers was flawless, and I want to know how she does it!

Anyway, we set off around noon, headed for King City, the campsite for Day 2.

About an hour into the trip, in Gilroy, we stopped to buy supplies (food/water), and Rob felt compelled to go by Starbucks "for a caffeine". (Rob has an unerring ability to find Starbucks in any location--you name the town, he knows exactly where the Starbucks is. It's uncanny.) So we stopped by the Gilroy Outlet Mall, and while Rob was getting his coffee (and a passion iced tea for me), I went for a quick look around the mall.

I poked my nose very briefly through Perfumania, which had nothing exciting. I'm not that into perfumes, preferring floral fragrances myself--rosewater, jasmine, and vanilla are my favorite scents, followed by cinnamon and other stuff. I was about to wander down to rejoin Rob, when I saw The Movado Store. 8-) I'm a big, big, BIG fan of Movado watches, so I went in to take a look around.

(Not, you understand, that I could afford a Movado. At least not at the moment. But they're god-awfully beautiful watches, and it's fun to try them on. Besides, I figured I might be able to find a used one on eBay, if I found the right one.)

Rob eventually joined me with drinks-and-all, and we went poking through the watches. I was looking for a gold-toned watch with a white face, as I need a watch in that color, and tried a couple of them on. Nothing really remarkable. I was looking at stainless steel bands and remarking that I'm nickel-sensitive (so I can't wear a lot of stainless steel), so I really needed something gold-plated.

At this point Rob, who also loves Movados (he has two), gets curious and says to the saleswoman, "Hey, are they still making the solid gold watches?" She says, "Yes! Right over here," and moves to a special locked case on the counter.

I can't resist this, of course, so I *have* to go see. I look in the case, riffle through the gold-and-diamonds watches (hey, I'll never have one, but I gotta try them all on!), and eventually try on one with a mother-of-pearl face, twelve tiny gold dots around the rim, the signature Movado dot on the rim, and "MOVADO" in tiny letters across the center. It's the "Ariel" style, and good gods, is it gorgeous. I fall in love with it.

It is THE nicest watch I've ever seen--elegant, understated, and beautiful. So many expensive watches are simply gaudy--"Look at me! I can afford a diamond-encrusted watch!"--but this one isn't. It doesn't call attention to itself, it doesn't scream anything, but it is lovely--and the more you look at it, the more beautiful it is. Like classical music. It's an absolute joy.

I gulp, and ask the saleslady, "How much is it?" She takes it, looks at the tag, and says, "Well, the list price is $3300."

I choke out, "Say no more."

She says, "But it's on sale for $1350."

I look at it. I LOVE this thing. I absolutely LOVE it. I need a gold-and-white dress watch for work. I do have some money, because of the severance, so I *could* buy it...but I. just. can't. afford that much money for a watch, no matter how much I love it. I briefly consider skipping my trip to Central America. It is just, just, beautiful.

I say, "Let me think about it," and get ready to walk out. I want to get away from this watch so I can think about it for several hours. I love it, it's perfect, but my God, $1350...for a watch...(!!!)

She says, "I'll give you a 15% discount, on top of the sale price..."

I say, "Aaaack!!!" and "Aaagh!!" and finally, "Give me your card...I'll think about it, and come back later in the afternoon..."

At this point, Rob [who, you may recall, is a millionaire] hands his credit card to the saleswoman, and says (to me, over his shoulder), "Happy birthday."

I'm flabbergasted. "Are you SURE???"

He says, "Sure! You need a watch for work, and this one is just perfect. It's beautiful. You couldn't possibly find a better watch. And it's a REALLY good price...hell, you could probably get that much just for the gold in the watch." He hands his card over to the woman.

I'm ecstatic. It's the most beautiful watch I've seen, and I just love it. [I know Rob isn't trying to bribe me for anything, because that's not his style--he likes giving things to people, it wouldn't be enjoyable if it were a quid pro quo.] So I am thrilled. I'm just about ready to kiss him, then I remember that he's my ex.

LOL

So now I have this gorgeous, gorgeous Movado watch, solid gold, with sapphire crystal. I love it. It's going to last me a lifetime.

(I was looking online for a photo of it, but the best I could find was an eBay ad--I don't know if it'll be up permanently, but you can check it out for now, here. The photo doesn't do it justice, though.)

Of course, now it's almost 2pm, and we haven't even gotten out of Gilroy. Am I complaining? NO!! But it's going to be a tight squeeze for the rest of the day.

The traveling tigress sets out again...

...but where to?

I am in the last stages of negotiations with Openwave, and it is now clear that they will be wanting their severance back. Which, of course, means that I am making my start date as late as possible (it's now May 9). Which means I'm going to Costa Rica.

Or Belize.

Or Guatemala.

I really haven't decided yet, and am having delicious fun contemplating all the places I could go. It needs to be cheap, it needs to be reasonably safe (i.e. no war zones), and it needs to have cool textiles. I'm thinking South or Central America. But no clue where, yet.

I must say, I'm really looking forward to going traveling. I'm already dusting off my backpack, digging my travel clothes out from the drawers, and getting all excited.

Where will I go? I don't know, and that makes it all the more delicious. :-)

Tien

job update et al

So, Openwave and I are in the last stages of negotiations, but it seems very likely that I'll be starting up there sometime in the next few weeks. It's a good position: project management in sustaining engineering, but with an eye to turning it into a profitable business. I'd have to work out a lot of the business-side details, like forecasting, contracts, working with Sales, etc.--basically, a lot of the stuff I was doing anyway in my previous position, except this time with support from management and a clear role. I could do a lot worse.

(I have a sneaking suspicion that this job was actually created for me--at the very least, it's been heavily tweaked with me in mind. But I'm not gonna argue with anyone over that. ;-) )

The main thing that's still unsettled is my start date. Depending on how severance works out, I'll either start in one week (April 25), or in three weeks (May 9). If I start early, then I get a bunch of bonus pay; if I start later, well, I get three weeks of vacation. Enough time to go to Costa Rica AND work on my book.

Either way, I'm not weeping. :)

Oh, and I got another batch of Openwave tchotchky with my offer letter. I now have two Openwave backpacks, two Openwave commuter mugs, and two Openwave notepads. But in addition to that, I now have an Openwave business-card index and an Openwave weird-little-thingie-that-holds-random-objects-to-your-dashboard, and some other random tchotchky. Truly, my cup runneth over with, er, stuff.

I'm hoping to close this all out by Monday.

Tien

Temptation...

Yergh.

I did it.

I went and looked at the East Bay Vivarium pricelist.

East Bay Vivarium, for those who don't know, is the premier reptile shop in the Bay Area--they have lots of exotic snakes you won't find in the average pet shop. (My ex, for example, was looking into purchasing a baby Mexican Beaded Lizard there--a smaller version of the Gila Monster, very rare, also venomous. I'd never heard of one for sale before.)

I went to their website wondering if they had an adult Brazilian rainbow male, as Rob still owes me one after killing Vulcan, my previous male. So I went off to their website, http://www.eastbayvivarium.com , and went paging through the pricelist just to see what they had.

Aack!

Snakes, you understand, are like popcorn: you can't have just one. First you get a female, because it's nifty-looking and you could maybe breed it and make back your money. Then, of course, you need a male to breed her to, and while you're getting the male you might as well get another female (2 females = more babies). Around then you find out that this species breeds better if you have multiple males, so you get a second male, and if you're going to have two males, you might as well have three or four females...

...Well. Now you understand how Rob and I wound up with twenty-one snakes.

I feel like an addict that's been dropped into a pile of the stuff.

For example: Peruvian rainbow boas! They're like Isis and Astarte (who are the Brazilian kind), except that Peruvians are BRIGHT RED--very beautiful in photos, I've never seen one in person. Thank goodness East Bay's sold out of them. Otherwise, I guarantee you I'd get one. I don't have room for another snake, but that has nothing to do with it. (Since when does that matter?) I love the Brazilians, a Peruvian would be fantastic, and you could maybe cross the Peruvian with a Brazilian to get a brighter-red snake. (Note the way in which snake-breeding is used as an excuse to get nearly anything.)

And they have Madagascan ground boas! Well, okay, they're nothing much to look at, sort of a dull muddy brown with neat little blue-brown hourglasses along the sides, but damn! are they rare! and they are one of the very few snakes with blue in their coloration. The last one I saw (which was admittedly about ten years ago) was at a breeder's convention, and the guy said he wouldn't part with his (adult) female for less than $30K. And look, they're down to a mere $650 ($1200 for a pair--I could breed them!).

Not to mention the Dumeril's boas--Hestia really needs a mate, she's so pretty she'd have fantastic babies...and whoa! a MADAGASCAN TREE BOA (bright orange! Incredibly beautiful! Never seen one in the flesh before!) for only $1500...

...this hobby can get expensive, fast.

I dunno. Some people collect miniatures. Some people collect sheep. Some people collect fiber. Me, I collect snakes.

So, I'm headed up to East Bay, and just praying I'll come home with only ONE snake. But I dunno...they have Amazon tree boas, and some reputedly beautiful Kenyan sand boas...

I tell you, it's really, really hard to keep one's snake habit from getting out of hand.

Is there a "Snake-Collector's Anonymous" somewhere?

Tien

Very worried about Isis

She's got another respiratory infection, and it sounds like a bad one...she is wheezing very loudly (to the point where I have trouble sleeping). She's not gaping, though, so I have some comfort.

(Gaping is where a snake sits with its mouth open...that means they're REALLY having trouble breathing.)

Unfortunately neither of the reptile vets can see her until Wednesday morning...so I've turned up the heat in her cage, have started the ultrasonic humidifier going (it's easier for her to breathe when the humidity is high...I think), and I may go out and get some sphagnum moss to put in her cage. Other than that there isn't a whole lot I can do for her...just hoping I can get her to the vet in time.

I'm also worried that this means the Pseudomonas infection has become chronic, in which case she might need antibiotics indefinitely, but I'll burn that bridge when I get there.

Meanwhile, it looks like my trip to Costa Rica is going up in smoke...if she's sick, I'll have to be around to give her injections.

Dangitall. (I hope she makes it through OK.)

Tien

In praise of spindles

I was spinning samples on my spindle yesterday and paused to think what a wonderful thing a spindle is. It's one of the simplest machines imaginable--a disc and a rod--but it turns fiber into thread. It has a lovely elegance.

In mathematical circles, elegance is greatly desired. A proof is elegant if it is short and simple: nothing wasted, no unnecessary flourishes or details, simply a spare, elegant laying-out of principles. Spindles are magnificently simple, yet effective.

I personally enjoy spindles more than wheels, although I was originally a wheel person. I was out yesterday, spinning as I went; and spun standing in the kitchen this morning, waiting for the water to boil. The cats wanted out; I walked over and let them out. The water boiled. I put the spindle on the countertop, set the tea brewing, put some soup in the microwave, then waited--contentedly spinning--while breakfast got ready. I tucked the spindle in my pocket as I went out.

Spindles are friendly: they accompany you as you do your little household chores, they come with you when you travel, they keep you company in the doctor's office or on walks. I went to the Poppy Reserve to admire the beautiful wildflowers; the spindle came along. I went down to Santa Cruz and went walking on the beach; the spindle came along. The spindle is a continuous presence, a friend, a meditation tool. Anywhere I go, if I want to slow down and appreciate the scenery, pull myself out of the flow of thought, I pull out my spindle and spin, walking slowly along, settling my mind with the rhythmic motion. When I am settled, and fully in the moment, I stop spinning, and take in the place.

I love how I can make bobbins out of nothing. One index card gave me four bobbins this morning. It's easy to stop and swap them--no muss, no fuss--and that's nice, when I'm sampling. I can make more as I need them, and dispose of them without guilt when I'm done. I travel light; no drawers full of bobbins to weigh me down. Anywhere in the world that I go, I can put my spindle in my pocket, roll up an index card or an old receipt, and I'm ready.

I love the way a spindle talks to me. It's not fast; it's not meant to be fast. It reminds me that the world is not about productivity; it's about enjoying the moment, not endlessly running towards a goal. It doesn't rush me; it doesn't ask to wind on as soon as I'm done; I have time to sit back, check the thread, spin a little more, and then wind on. It's a slower beast, one that relates to me; one that is about elegance and the moment, rather than production.

I love spindles because they're all about patience. I spin ring shawls, impossibly fine threads; an entire shawl might weigh three ounces. I create as I go, designing the shawl to reflect something about me, a process from my life. The slow speed of the spinning gives me time to reflect, to meditate, to make the shawl a part of my life, a natural part of myself. If I spun faster, I'd be designing on the fly, pushing myself to stay ahead of the yarn; and I think that would detract from the finished work. My work is not just a finished piece, but a piece of my life, and you cannot live your life unless you spend time with it, bring it with you, nurture it. A spindle gives me that time; it's a companion, it doesn't rush me.

Spindles are ancient; spindles are modern. Spindles take fibers, and magically turn them into thread. Spindles are walking companions, meditation aids, capable tools. They are endlessly adaptable, and easy travelers. Wherever I go, I can make new bobbins, find a spindle, or carve one for myself: I am independent, free as the air. They are works of art, as in my silver spindles, or works of pure practicality; they are anything they want to be. One disc, one rod: perfection.

Waiting for Godot

Well, actually, I'm waiting for Openwave and Ofoto (now Kodak EasyShare Gallery). Openwave is going to make me an offer, but it's still wending its way through the approval process, so I haven't heard anything back yet. Ofoto finished interviewing its three candidates on Thursday, so I imagine I'd hear back on Monday or Tuesday.

Which would I prefer? Dunno. There are a lot of factors involved, so I think it works out almost equal between the two. I won't be unhappy if I wind up at either place, so I'm not stressing.

Meanwhile, I wait, and occupy myself pleasantly with other things.

One of those other things is a Fricke Petite drum carder that I just got off eBay...a nice, as-new Petite WITH the brush attachment for only $225! I have been in fiber-blending heaven. I'm currently doing samples for the next shawl--just finished two kid mohair/silk/angora/wool batts, and three different silk/angora/wool batts. I'm carefully recording everything about the blends:

• samples of original fiber
• sample of carded batt
• sample of spun yarn
• knitted swatch if it got that far
• proportion and weights of fibers used
  

I'm putting all this into my new spinner's/knitter's notebook, which will let me keep track of my sampling, design work, etc. I'm ecstatic about the idea of being able to keep track of all this stuff, instead of having to reinvent the wheel every time I want to do something. I won't have to re-transcribe patterns eight times. I can do an experimental swatch and write down all my thoughts and observations while I'm doing it. I can do thought-experiments and keep them there for posterity. Oh, joy, joy, joy!!

I tried this before using a spiral notebook, but the pages weren't strong enough--they tore out with use, especially with swatches stapled in. Now I'm using medium-heavy cardstock pages, and printing a graph-paper grid on it using a freeware printing program. I stick those in a three-ring binder. Works pretty well so far.

I've been playing with the gray yarn I spun up for the shawl. I don't like it quite enough to use on its own--it's a rather boring gray, and I want more visual texture in my shawl--so I'm working on a white yarn to use as a companion. Square shawl, knit in the round, a few rounds of white, a few rounds of gray, a few rounds of white, etc.--so, nested white and gray squares. I have some idea what kind of design I want, but still playing with it. It may all change again tomorrow. That's the fun part of futzing around.

Anyway, I did three angora-silk-merino blends: one with white angora, one with 1/3 black satin angora and 2/3 white angora, and one with a softer "conventional" black angora, which really comes out very pale gray. I'm going to try spinning those up, and staple them into my notebook.

Meanwhile, I am enjoying the sunny days. My physical therapist finally turned me loose on Wednesday (!!!!!!!!) so I'm getting out and doing stuff again. I also finally have some money to spend, so I've been going about and enjoying myself. It's not that I'm spending huge amounts of money, it's just that I'm not worried about money at the moment, for the first time in years.

Oh, and depending on where I wind up, I may very well make it to Costa Rica. If I start up at Openwave, I'm definitely taking a two-week vacation there before starting. If I start up at Ofoto, well, we'll see. ;-)

Tien