It followed me home

I stumbled upon this little gem at an antiques shop in Celina, Tennessee this past week. It followed me home.

It's an Ashford Traditional spinning wheel that's about 15 years old. I got it for a hundred bucks. I almost feel guilty. Almost.

She (this wheel is definitely a female) is pretty dirty and her original finish wasn't applied very carefully. My plan is to take it completely apart and do a complete overhaul. The only thing I probably can't correct is the chip on smallest whorl of the flyer. However, I don't think the chip will adversely impact the spinning. It looks like there's enough of the groove left for the drive band to operate as it should. (Fingers crossed.)

These are the before photos. Let the games begin!

 

Like I need three spinning wheels....but that's not the point of today's blog post. I'll save that introspection for later.

About bananas

The good folks at Groupon sent me an e-mail yesterday that contained a list of household items and accessories that might interest me. I have purchased Groupons in the past for restaurants or discounted admission tickets to a local attraction or two, but not for goods and services. There's no particular reason other than nothing they have sent has interested me. When the e-mails come in, I give the contents a quick glance and then hit the delete button.

That was exactly what I did yesterday to this e-mail that advertised:

57% Off 3-Pack of Banana Bunkers, Tanda Zap Acne Treatment Device, Handmade Monogram Necklaces & More

I opened it, scrolled down, hit delete and then.... What? Banana bunker? Did I just see that? Undelete! Yes, I saw exactly what I thought I saw. I am now interested.

Wink, wink, nudge, nudge! Can you imagine pulling this out of a lunch box/bag in front of coworkers, classmates, my sister...or my knitting buddies? Seriously! Let the ridicule and tacky jokes begin. Oh, I totally get the concept but...ribbed? gentle curve? And I always thought these things ran on batteries, not bananas. Who knew?

In my opinion, a pack of three is overkill, but I do like the different colors. Might I suggest pink or purple, maybe add some sparkle?

I went to the website to buy a set, but they are sold out. Surprised? I'm not.

Chrysalis Fibers

I'm excited to announce that Chrysalis Fibers is once again online on Etsy!

This first batch is yarn created from old t-shirts. These shirts were way too cool for the rag bag so I cut them up and voila! All one-of-a-kind hanks are a continuous strip that can be used for knitting, crochet, weaving, ribbon, or whatever your imagination comes up with. Have fun!

Handspun will go online tonight and, if everything goes according to plan, hand dyed sock yarn and spinning fiber will be up this weekend.

 

To keep prices as low as possible, I ship via USPS First Class and do my best to calculate actual shipping charges. No hidden handling charges! Packages will be sent within 1-3 business days (I have a day job that gets in the way). Faster or alternative delivery methods available upon request.

Can't you smell that smell?

Last night after work I went to Jewish Kroger (the smallish Kroger in Belle Meade). If you have ever shopped there, you know why I call it Jewish Kroger. I'm not being mean or discriminatory. I love that Kroger because it is small, they never rearrange things (very important), don't have to take a shuttle from the parking lot to the door, and I can get in and out quickly.

I needed fluorescent light bulbs. Not something I typically shop for at Kroger, but I didn’t want to go to Home Depot, Lowe’s Target or Walmart. My first choice was Ace Hardware, but it was after 6pm...closed. So, Jewish Kroger was the logical choice. 

I walked in, turned to the left and turned down one aisle too soon (toilet paper). A woman walked past me. I nearly gagged at the smell. “When was the last time she bathed?” And it wasn’t BO smell…it was lack of very personal hygiene smell. I did an about face and went to the next aisle. The stench was stronger, but that woman was nowhere in sight. There was no one in the light bulb aisle. Good Lord, was it me? Sniff sniff. No. Pretty sure it wasn't me. Don't breathe. I got my light bulbs and headed for the self checkout (after a quick detour to pick up a pint of ice cream).

The closer I got to the self-checkout the worse the smell got. But wait…the smell changed to floral vanilla…changed back to evil stench…floral…evil…floral…evil. Let me describe the evil smell. Three words. Dog. Anal. Gland. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, consider yourself blessed. Think about a dog doing the carpet scooch, isn't that funny? No. It's disgusting. They drag-butt because they have itchy butt. They have itchy butt because the anal gland is clogged. When the anal gland becomes unclogged pray that it doesn't happen in the house or that you're within 100 yards of the beast. One drop is lethal. A vet will "express" a dog's clogged anal gland for the best $15 you will ever spend. Sophie's vet offered to show me how to do it. All it takes is a rubber glove and knowing what to squeeze. GAG and F that! Nope. Here's $15.)

Back to my story. I was at the the self-checkout and trying not to be too obvious as I studied my fellow Kroger shoppers. Then I noticed three Kroger employees, each with a can of air freshener, each trying to hold in their laughter and each failing miserably. “Shhh he he he he he shhh…don’t laugh…he he he he SHHHHH…spray again, he he he he but don’t be so obvious, stop it!...oh my God...yes I checked the restroom…shh shh he he he he he…you know what this smells like? he he he he he…my cat’s ass!” That's when I lost it. I quickly headed for the door and the promise of fresh air, leaving the behind uproarious laughter and the sound of more spraying.