Stinking Rose Therapy

Now that the subzero temperatures and the snow has pretty much subsided, people are now complaining about the rain like it's something new here on the Rusty Coast.

I’m one of the sick puppies that actually likes the rain. Good thing I live here. Too bad, so many others here have WWW Syndrome, (Wicked Witch of the West syndrome) and act like it’s going to melt them. Hopefully, acid rain won’t get to that point. Considering that we’re a Gortex nation out here on the Rusty Coast there wouldn’t be so much bellyaching about the rain. Mind you, I’m learning that those that complain about the rain seem to celebrate the sunny weather by heading to the malls. Very odd, very odd indeed.

Unfortunately, all this damp and cold is not helping DH’s war against phlegm. Poor dear is battling a month-long bronchial infection. Yesterday, he downed 2 heads of garlic by way of nachos. Let’s just say that vampires won’t be bothering him anytime soon. He took a bath this morning and I swear, you could have used the bath water as soup base. Not that I would but I could.

On top of his deadly garlic therapy, he’s also taking penicillin, Cold-FX, ginger tea by the barrel, mega-vitamins and Chinese herbal medicine (Ho Yan Har cha). Probably a bit over the top and I’m wondering if maybe the mix of mold pills and the herbal stuff may simply be confusing his body. He’s been on a vigilant fight to get healthy so we can go bang on some ice this weekend. So far I think the score is Cooties:57, Kevin:2.

Oh well, the avalanche reports are heading up to ‘considerable’ and ‘high’ danger ratings for the backcountry.. Maybe it’s better that we stick around home for the weekend and watch endless hours of CSI, knit and spin up a storm, simmer up a big pot of soup and let the cooties run their course.

Here’s what I have worked up on the wheel right now. It’s a Romney-merino blend. Super soft and luxurious and totally over the top for a beginner’s spinning wool but it’s what I’ve got. I've also have a couple balls of Briggs & Little's Country Roving for practicing my treadling and simply getting some mileage under my belt. I've been experimenting lots and my little head is trying to process all this new information. I'm still overtwisting the yarn like most beginners but not as badly as I when I first started.

Here’s some more photos from our Winter Adventure trip. They’re of the Columbia Basin’s Banks Lake area in Washington State. There’s some amazing ice that forms up there and there’s little avalanche hazard. We’re hoping to get back down there in the coming months. Until then, we have the joy of subjecting all of our friends to an endless slideshow of the gzillion photos we took on our trip.

Have a great weekend!

Jen