The weather today is finally fabulous. I think it's going to get to be too hot again tomorrow, but with luck the crippling humidity will stay away for a while. I ought to be showing you pictures of my garden, but I haven't touched it:

last Tuesday I went into the lab early and got part of it organized for the field school; the next day I organized some more of it, which involved moving large pieces of furniture. Kind of satisfying, actually, but it was the sort of thing I needed to be doing at home, and I wasn't.

The next day I drove about 200 miles, most of it, I think, on the piece of 202/9 and 89 that connect me to Concord and Rt. 93, to look at some finds from a site near the one we'll be digging this summer, and then to go talk to the housing people at SNHU, where we are putting up some diggers.

Friday, Paul the carpenter and I went to see the Alpine Meadow flowers on Mount Washington. It's about 120 miles from here. He is an Appalachian Mountain Club co-leader and wanted to try out his new raingear and his very effective I think it was called a JetBoiler, which produced hot tea in seconds flat.


It was a very 'soft' day, not really raining 6 miles up the mountain road while we were there, but condensing like crazy on everything. The visibility was about 50 yards, with occasional lifts and a thinner cloud passed over us. Even though it was Motorcycle Week and there were quite decent numbers of determined motorcyclists going blindly up the Auto Road, it was astonishingly quiet.



We were in the area where what trees there were (birches and spruces) were stunted to less than a foot tall and the species of flowers ended in 'lapplandica.' There were a very few song sparrows. The colors of the lichens made me want to ply a colorway in three grays and three greens. And maybe a dash of fushia.




Saturday was the celebration of Ellie's birthday, which it wasn't quite. We had hoped the Saturday would be convenient for people, but they were already booked with weddings, so it ended up just being family. Ellie made a fantastic gluten-free lunch with fruit salad, pasta salad, chili, and a four-layer chocolate cake. She also provided bubbles, which made some of the hardest cases among us all giggly and pleased.

The Birthday Woman (19)


My decadent parents, who found that bubbles filled with cigarette smoke flew higher and lasted longer

After everyone left, I slept for three hours.

Yesterday Sarah and Doug and I filled up the new fiber room. This was the former owner's exercise room, built by someone possibly on a great deal of dope. They told me it needed 3K worth of sill work. It has cost more than 5 times that, but it's a much nicer place now. It was quite a lovely room, empty, but I think it will be a great place and possibly confine some of the woolen invasion. I have been able to unpack my craft books at last. Some of my stash (cleverly left unphotographed) is still missing -- I know I have eight skeins of Halcyon Rug Yarn somewhere.



Doug is standing proudly by the Loom Formerly Known as YarnHead Kate's (and a String of Other SheepThrillers), which he put together in record time. One hopes I will warp it soon. What should I make?