now the fun part

all my sample skeins and kits are made and packed. all the customs documentation is complete. now for the fun part. we're leaving for orlando on sunday. set up for the acre trade show isn't until thurs. morning. so we have almost 4 days in florida to sightsee. we're renting a house (yes, with a heated pool) and a car. i know exactly what i am looking for. i want to see florida's flora and fauna. and i want to see "old" florida. i want the kitchy, 1950's florida. i want the washed out colours. i want to bring back handkerchiefs with palm trees and flamingos on them. i don't want disney or bigbox stores. so, if you have any suggestions of places to see within a day trip of orlando, please leave a comment.
ps. that's my new tablecloth that just arrived. found it on etsy.

on my 1 day off

yesterday i gave myself a day off. all of my yarn orders were finished and ready to be mailed off. (abigail and i took them to the post office for our late afternoon walk).

i was waiting for the last of the paperwork for getting my product across the border for the trade show. it arrived in the afternoon and i'll take it to customs today to be activated.
so, having nothing i needed to do,i gave myself a holiday.

i cooked up a lovely dish for dinner. (things have been pretty ragged in that field lately).

i spun up some more yarn.something secret for the new baby.

i carded up some fleece for a new project.

and worked out the next few steps on the piece i'm working on now.
i loved the freedom of the day. it was a day where i felt my mind expanding and reaching out.

keeping things in balance

next weekend i leave for orlando florida to attend the ACRE trade show. there is a whole lot of work preparing to take sample products and booth display across the border. every item must be listed and numbered and reported to ottawa and presented for inspection at customs here in corner brook. yesterday i finished the last of the 60 skeins i'm taking.

i also started teaching (i teach 1 course at the university once a year). but in keeping with my "embrace winter" resolution, i took an hour off in the morning and went snow shoeing. and loved it.

winter's gift of silence

one of the things i do appreciate about winter is the silence. yesterday as i worked - dyeing and spinning and filling out yet more paperwork for canada customs (in preparation for carrying samples across the border for the acre orlando tade show in a couple of weeks), the snow began to fall. if fell all morning.

it fell all afternoon.

and into the evening. with no wind, it quickly piled up onto every surface. abigail and i went out to shovel in late afternoon, it was like shovelling white air.

learning to love winter

i am not a fan of winter. i spend the winter months (and there are many of them here in newfoundland) indoors. resenting where i live. ignoring what is going on outside and waiting for the warmth to return. i made a conscious decision this year to change my mind. i don't want to feel detached from the natural world for almost half the year.

my holiday reading was adam gopnik's collection of essays called "winter". i finished it last night and absolutely loved it. (although i do confess i flipped through the essay on hockey...)

i'm determined to embrace this season. get out every day and experience the weather - no matter how severe it is. abigail says she's along for the ride.

some of us have lots to do

while most craft's people are winding down from the christmas rush, i'm just getting going. i have 3 trade shows to attend in the next 3 months so have been busy making sample products for display. and i start teaching again later this week. the push is on. abigail remains calm through it all...

wiped clean

day one of a new year. we dream. a day full of promise and new beginnings. my garden sits. waiting.