Eye Candy Friday - More Spinning

It's raining and it's 58 degrees today. I'm off because we have off 8 Fridays over the summer and this is one of mine which means it'll rain. It seems to me that we're in some kind of awful weather pattern and it's cold and rainy. The good side is, I've only turned on the AC once so far and it's June. My budgeted bill says, "Balance in your favor: $172.33". So, if I don't leave things on, I should be good. I make a conscious effort to go green, honest. I recycle as much as I can, I do not ever ever litter, I buy energy efficient appliances. The only thing I don't have is a hybrid car. We drive a minivan and an Equinox. I love them both dearly. The Equinox wasn't available as a hybrid when I bought mine but I would consider buying one when this one needs to be replaced. We'll see. Also, I don't have solar panels but did look into getting them. It's expensive and you can only make electricity when the sun shines. You can't store it up. Considering that we've seen the sun exactly three days in the past 3 weeks...well, use your imagination.

So, I'm home. I'm recuperating from a long week that I made harder than I should've. Work is really slow right now and I'm using the time to get my desk in order, clear out my every overflowing e-mail box, clean up and organize my files. (The soft copies, not the physical ones). I'm also taking some days off. There are several school events conveniently scheduled during the day so that working people can attend them. I have the good fortune of being able to telecommute as well as being located about a half mile from the school. Some of the events are an hour and I can run over and make them. Some are all day. Like Field Day. Field Day was supposed to be today but being it's 58 degrees and pouring, it's next Thursday. There's also Kindergarten picnic, 1st Grade Picnic, Kindergarten Moving Up, a smattering of birthday parties that my kids want to go to and scouts.

The other thing I've been noticing is exactly where my money goes. In the past it was, "I just don't know where it goes" but now I do. Check out the checks I wrote the past few days:
Spring Pictures - proceeds to PTA. $36 for each kid.
Teacher gifts: $5 each kid
Next year cub scouts fee: $80
Next year girl scout fee: $12 (What's up with this? So cheap, no? The boys do alot more though)
Lunch card refil: $20 each kid for 10 lunches and 'snack' each.

That's nearly $200. How am I supposed to buy things for me? Say, a bunch of bobbins and some more fiber?

The childcare credit is simply too small.

Maybe I'll write Obama and ask for an increase in that, an increase in Flexible Spending and Childcare pre-tax accounts (right now they're $5k each) and the implementation of the "Working Mommy" pre-tax account.

Working Mommy eligible expenses would be those things that working mommies need:

1. Housekeeping service not to exceed $60 a session or 10 sessions a year. These are to be used when you're in a bind, say, when you're planning Thanksgiving at your house and have to work the day before and the bathroom looks like the battlefield at Normandy. (Tomorrow is D-Day, btw.)

2. Errand runner. Not to exceed $500 a year. This is someone who is hired to do small errands that make working mommies insane because they can't ever get to them even though they take only a few minutes. i.e.: going to the car wash, DMV, returning library books, going to the post office, food shopping, picking up the Chinese Food order and prescriptions.

3. Quarterly Spa Treatment. No description necessary.

4. $100 towards a weekend retreat with hubby, say, in the Poconos.

5. 20 sessions per child - tutor for the kids. We actually have this at our library. High school kids tutor the younger ones and I am considering signing my son up for it. I think it's free. He is more likely to work with someone other than me.

Instead, we have what we call, "Mental Health Days". Those are days that we take off to recover, relax and clean our house in peace.

OK, now that I'm settled a bit, enjoying my Mental Health Day, let's talk about my yarn. I have selected the pattern for the blueberries and will keep it a secret until I'm well enough along to show you it. (Just in case I change my mind or something....even though I won't. I want it to be a surprise. I am highly recommending that anyone wanting a nice silky soft and smooth yarn visit Opalessence's website and e-mail her inquiring about this. According to the show schedule, she will not be at Rhinebeck, darnit. I am so regretting not buying a case of the 70 Merino/30 Tencel at MDS&W. The blueberry yarn is so luscious that even DH was caught fondling it. But alas, I'm in Love, It's all spun up... (yes, reference to the King here.) and now, today's eye candy.

Eye Candy Friday - Candied Hearts!

I'm trying something new......This is Candied Hearts, 100% Merino from moonlightbaker's shop on Etsy. The roving I bought was 6 oz and change and handpainted and beautiful. I am ATTEMPTING to spin across the top and preserve the solid colors because I'm not really overly fond of the barbershop pole one gets from making 2 ply yarn out of handpaint. So, I'll spin a single and do my Navajo plying which I'm beginning to really truly like! The yarn comes out so nice and round. So, let's just say that I need a little more practice in doing this. It's not easy to make it as even and doesn't feel like a natural motion. It's going slowly for me because I'm trying to be careful. It seemed like the red portion was ENDLESS. This is going to be a scarf for my little Boobette as these are some of her most favorite colors and I'm hoping to get about 250 yards but we'll see. I'm using the 6:1 ratio. Right now, I only have 6:1 and 8:1 because I cracked the whorl. I am going to try and repair that today. I have a feeling this is going to be a skinny lacy scarf..don't know yet.

Don't know if you're keeping track but I have yet to knit out of anything that I've spun. Nothing, not a stitch. Not even a swatch. I've been spinning for nine months and just collect the skeins. It's as if, I don't want to knit with them, just take them out and play with them.

Do you see why I need more mental health days?