ACM, My other man

One of my goals for this summer was to plan out my non-working time a bit more efficiently. Admittedly, I'm a champion when it comes to wasting time when I'm home. There are so many other things besides knitting that I want to accomplish. I want to increase my spinning skills, both on drop spindles, as well as on my wheel.
I want to begin spending more time in and on the water. Having been given a clean bill of health last week from my doctor (yay me!), she did say as one begins to age  mature, exercise becomes even more important. Her advice was to swim, but since I'm allergic to the high levels of chlorine necessary in public pools, and since I don't have one (yet), that leaves the lake in my area. My husband and I have been discussing having a pool put in, but we are still undecided as to which kind we want. Gunite or fiberglass? In-ground or above ground? So, my sister and I are going to hopefully start kayaking regularly. We have a wonderful aquatic center in our area on a beautiful lake, and until I decide if it's something I want to stick with, I will rent my boat. I will tell you though, I've already staked out an area in our garage for my new boat! My sister already has her own, and has her favorite launch site where I can get one to use for the day. I'm very excited about it.... Ahoy, matey!

Today, my sister also graduates as a Hatha Yoga instructor, so I will now address her as "Yogini". :=) I'm very proud of her. She has devoted a lot of time, money, and effort into this goal. I'm looking forward to when she returns home tomorrow, and we can start my instruction!

Something else I'm very excited about is a new book a friend of mine has written. The foreword reads: "Alfred Clay Moore planned and carried out his suicide. He needed answers to questions before he could leave, and it was his unaware best friend he turned to. This is a love story between a young emergency room nurse and her aide, a self-taught man from the hollers of West Virginia, fifteen years older. The story spans twnety years of their friendship: the games they played, the talks they had and the lessons they learned from each other. This is a heartfelt, poignant tale of a most unique relationship where role of teacher and student continually shifts from one to the other."
It's a funny, sad, even a little bit of crazy, but very real to a West Virginia hillbilly and "his nurse".
This is one woman's story of dealing with goodbye and a book for anyone who has ever lost a friend. If you liked "Tuesdays with Morrie", and "Ghost", you'll love "ACM, My Other Man."

I have talked to my friend Sue, the author, when I see her each week, and I can see and feel the deep emotion in her story. I can hardly wait for my copy to arrive to begin reading it. She promises I'm going to love it and I have no doubts. That's where scheduling my time is going to come into play. I want to do it all: read, spin, knit, listen to podcasts, cook, garden, spend time with friends and family, and do my volunteer work....and work!  In one day. We'll see how far I get with that one. Oh, and you can order your copy from Amazon. She has already gotten one review since it was released last week, so my guess is, you should probably hurry and order yours while it is still available.

This past month has I've been seeing red. Red everywhere! I have gone off the deep end with the color red. Being the color of love, it is one of my new favorites to wear. Which is why I have bought enough red yarn to make at least three cardigans, eight ounces of Blue-Face Leicester to spin for a scarf, and a kit to make the tiny red dress pin/ornament featured in the Knit Red:Stitching for Women's Heart Health book. I'm very passionate about all of it! If for whatever reason you aren't able to wear a true red, you might try the more pinkish tones, or go the othe way with the more orange-y tones. These days, yarns and fibers come in all different hues/tones.



Yesterday, I managed to wind a single off one of my drop spindles, soak to set the twist, and wind into a hank to put in my stash. You never know when you might need 123 yds of  fingering BFL for that one little project. I'm very pleased with my progress. I'm getting better at achieving a more balanced yarn, and that just makes spinning even more fun!!

With temps forecasted today for over 100 degrees Farenheit, my sweetie and I, along with little Maggie, can be found at a nearby body of water (San Francisco?). We'll be returning later where our hearts are though. Home!