Will Walk for Chocolate. And a Cause.

(First, Mr. Wonderful updated the official MelissaKnits website this past week, for which he deserves applause in the form of clicks. If you feel up to it, pop over and take a look around so his hit counter goes up. It will make him smile. We added an "Upcoming Events" toggle and swapped some things around. I like the look. I was kind of a neurotic nag about this, not a fun wife, and so any support we can offer him will make my life, and his, a little happier.)

This past Saturday was the 4th Annual Hot Chocolate Run in Northampton. There's also a walk, conveniently for those of us who will only go so far for chocolate and a cause. Call me a wimp, but running just is not my thing unless there's a treadmill with impact reduction involved. Now, we're not residents of Northampton being some 30 miles to the north, but we do both have a soft spot for the cause. The run is in support of Safe Passage, which assists women who are victims of domestic violence, and strive for a community "where violence is not the answer".
It was a brisk morning, a whopping 23 degrees F here when we left. We got to the start/finish on Gothic Street and pinned on our numbers, and waited in the crush for the start of the walk. Walkers began a half hour before runners on a nearly 2 mile loop. We were about halfway back in the pack, which made for a little frustration for me. This is odd because I have stubby legs and usually am trying to keep up with people. There were a lot of families and kids in strollers and on foot, and many dogs. I decided I totally want a poodle mix of some kind for my next dog. They're just so happy. We made it back to the start/finish in time to see the runners head out, which was fun. Then I drank cocoa, then I drank half of Mr. W's cocoa and proceeded to get nauseous from too much cocoa too fast. My breakfast had consisted of my usual banana, sans cup of decaf, so I'd stupidly not had anything to drink since getting out of bed. I figured it was just a couple of miles. I should have had a water bottle on me. But it was totally fun and I want to do it again.
Walking out...

walking back...

RUN! (Have fun with that...)

A better woman then I, Amy, Director of Publicity at Storey Publishing. Feel free to contact her and beg for my appearance at a yarn or book store near you. Bonus points if you've got contact info for said yarn/book store, double bonus points if they're interested. I think Amy's wearing about fifty million layers here. But she looks happy, which is unusual - most runners I see look kind of sad and pained. Of course, she'd seen me, and had to know she'd end up here so she might be faking it.

A penguin and a polar bear, from the logo designed for the event by Hilary Price who authors the syndicated Rhymes with Orange strip, which, if you have never read you really really should. They were cute, and ran the whole course in those outfits, for which I give them great kudos.

Kids - love this. Get them out there young. Mr W's youngest ran when he was young. It was really good for him. I love it when the kids want it so, so bad.

Then it was reward time...this is...it's...(sniffle) a GLUTEN FREE PIZZA!! Melissa Loves Hillside Pizza. This is my second visit - the first was broccoli. This time I got spinach and garlic. Oh, my, YUM.

We next stopped at World Eye Bookshop in Greenfield for the Holly Hobbie signing of her Toot and Puddle books. I didn't remember to bring my camera (because I am Craptastic Blogger!!)I bought two, one for Emily and one for April and Holly signed them graciously. I love these books. Girl had the first one well past the time when she should have just for the illustrations. Omie wants them ALL! Then I came home and started another sweater for April. I am obviously not done exorcising my grandma knitting. This is Hermine from Baby Knits from Dale of Norway: Soft Treasures for Little Ones in Jawoll solids and Artyarns Ultramerino 4, UM4-111. This book is totally out of print. I own two. I love this book.

Check this out - books under lock and key for the launch. Things like this make me giggle.

Also giggle making is the British Edition, published by David and Charles. So now both editions sit side by side next to my monitor, so I can giggle all day. Also note the blue book there, with the white A just visible? That's a book called Ask the Pilot which Katy says will make my brain all better about flying. Yeah. Sure. That and a bottle of Xanax and a good, stiff drink.

I went to Gail's house last week. I love going to Gail's house. When I go to Gail's, things like this happen.

Now I am going to go watch the snow fall, and eat my last two slices of gluten free pizza, and knit a little, and ponder the meaning of life (not really, but it sounded good!)

Wat a weekend. (Nope. I mean Wat.)

This (on the ground, under the towel - click on it, you'll see) is Wat - named for the NH Wool Arts Tour. Here I think she's about two minutes old. We were casually wandering Mirage Alpacas, our favorite stop and heard someone yell that there was "...a delivery". After a moment of confusion (UPS??) the situation was clarified - an alpaca was giving birth to a cria right that minute. Girl and Jules found their way to a fence rail just in time for Jules to see Wat plop unceremoniously to the ground. We trotted outside and watched her first moments. I tried to get better pictures, but my batteries died on me (camera, not personal). We all stood around and watched, probably more than was good for mom or baby, until Wat and Tika were taken off to a barn to bond. I must say this was the highlight of the day. We visited four out of the five stops on the tour - The Wool Room, Chauncey Farm, Western View Farm and Mirage Alpacas. Unfortunately we did not make it to The Fiber Studio. At The Wool Room I bought a Latvian mitten book and two sets of antler buttons which I just love. I am now going to relentlessly scour the woods for discarded antlers come spring. They had some lovely handmade soap, but I resisted, saving my money for later in the day. At Chauncey Farm I bought the Maine Kids book - I have the adult one and just wanted this book in the worst way, and some really wonderful Cucumber Dill salad dressing from Thyme & Ewe farm. They're very cool; they provide a permanant home for farm animals in need of assistance and shelter - for $50 a year you can sponsor a rescued animal. We headed for Western View next, but somehow got turned about and ended up at Mirage, which was ok since we were all starved. Mr. Wonderful and Girl had hot dogs. How you can go to a sheep and wool event and not have something other than a hot dog...the Washington (NH) Historical Society hosts a canteen with hot dogs and chili and locally grown lamb. Lamb sausage, kabobs, burgers. Yum. I had a kabob, and Jules had a lamb burger (strong, brave Jules). After lunch we watched Wat for a while, and never managed to make it back inside. Girl and Jules had a blast petting donkeys, and Mr. Wonderful ambled contentedly about contemplating a life as a gentleman farmer (if anyone's got the cash, and wants to invest in a llama and alpaca establishment, I have a great farm manager for you, and a farm right across the street from me about to go on the market!). Then we went to Western View which is always a blast to get to and an even bigger blast to park at, but I love it there. They have my soap, which is made by Country Spun Treasures in a fragrance called Sweet Earth and I adore it but she did not have any soap at all. This meant that I was forced (yea, forced is the word I used) to spend the cash I'd been saving all day long on something, so I chose this - ya gotta have Heart (being a Jacob ewe in her second fleece which I now own). I've been promised soap in May. I can be patient. I may get very, very dirty and somewhat smelly, but I can wait. I cannot, however, wait for new wheel. Nothing but me and a flicker and the wheel. Ahhhh... No blending either, I am going to spin it as it comes out of the bag. Hey. It looks like a reverse Boo-Boo - white with black and tan. Kinda funny that I choose fleece the same color as my dog...
Sunday was an even cooler day. I had been waiting for this for a very very very long time. I had a Kanga-Extravaganza with Kirsten and Gail Callahan, the Kangaroo Dyer. Awesome is the only word that comes to my lips. See:

Stockbridge; formerly yellow on the left, formerly pink on the right, dyed as a color wheel. 12 skeins, $3.99 each, making the whole color wheel project $47.88 in yarn (although it's currently on sale, so if you did this today it'd be $35.88.) and you end up with 1308 yards of hand-dyed yarn which would be perfect for weaving a color gamp (a great exercise) or knitting Into Something (I am working on it in my head...the yarn is still drying). Awesome. After we'd done the color wheel we got reckless with some other yarns Kirsten had brought. She did an unbelievable job on some pretty dull-lookingSoft Sea Wool, and single-handedly saved two ugly rovings from clown-barf hell, turing them into works of art. She very generously let me share some of her booty. It is possible that I occasionally get a little TOO into things...gloves?? Who needs gloves? I don't need no stinkin' GLOVES!! I had to cut my nails last night. They were positively black.

I was able to overdye some Trilly in a pale peach into a lovely sunrise fiasco (in a good way), and some E.L. Silky Wool that used to be mustard yellow, and a skein of something I don't remember what, two-ply tan and cream, but not-no-more! I did a couple of others, but cannot remember what any more (although if I turn around and look at the drying rack I might be reminded), I only know that they are improved from yaaawran to YARN!

Our last yarn dying project was a skein each of Alpaca Silk. This is where things became so delineated in terms of personality that it was really kind of comical. We tested colors on scraps of paper towel and both of us really started out planning to use about the same colors, with a little darker purple on my side maybe. Somewhere things went wildly hinckey, because we ended up with these skeins - me with my typical orange, tonal not variegated on the left, and Kirsten's more variegated lavenders and yellows and steely gray and green on the right. I think I was subconsciously planning ahead a little on this, more than I'd intended. I think I want to knit up a shawl for myself in a color I love, dyed in a way that would not detract from the pattern. I find it endlessly amusing that two people can start sort of on the same page and end up on opposite sides of the spectrum - literally! I just cannot follow directions - even my OWN!

There is something you should know about Kangaroos, I was not aware of this until yesterday. They're camera shy!! Elusive even, turning their backs against the glare of the paparazzi's (that'd be me) flash. At the end of the day, here's Kirsten and Gail...or Gail's back anyway...in a shirt that I think needs to be printed and sold right next to the yarn!