Sorry, no knitting, spinning, weaving or other crafty content today! But this information is to valuable not to pass on for those who might be interested!

This morning I attended a free “Webinar” with Dr. Peter Gerhardt via the internet. I had read in the San Francisco Chronicle about the free Webinar and was excited to learn that Dr. Gerhardt specializes in teens and adults on the Autism Spectrum. Nick is going to be twenty next month, and even with all the years that I have been working with him, I always felt that I was missing something in helping him. I have to say that the information that I was presented today really opened my eyes more to some of the things I should be helping Nick with and where the school programs are failing him.

Today’s session (there was one last night as well) was recorded and should be available to everyone who is interested for free, sometime next week on the Rethink Autism site. If you are raising a child, or have a family member or friend on the Autism Spectrum, I do highly recommend that you take a look at the following links and the information provided. I am also providing a brief over view on the different sites for those of you who are interested. (Click the bold titles to go to the various sites.)

Rethink Autism

This is the site that the recorded webinar will be made available. As I said, it will be for free, and there are sections of the site that are completely free for everyone to access. You do not need to sign up for the one week trial, nor for any services through the site. You can also sign up (scroll down the web page to find it) a free email newsletter with autism tips (practical daily living advice, autism tip videos and live webinar events with autism experts). This alone would be a valuable resource for any parent with a child on the Autism Spectrum.

Organization for Autism Research

another Dr. Gerhardt’s site with research information and resources to help families today..

Autism Today

Here is another of Dr. Gerhardt’s websites.. filled with resources and you can email him from this site and ask him questions (he will answer according to the webinar) He volunteer’s his time and the site is purely run on donations.

Division TEACCH

This is a division of the UNC Department of Psychiatry that focuses on the treatment and education of Autistic and related communication handicapped Children.. also recommended by Dr. Gerhardt..

Mission For Education Children With Autism

Mission for Educating Children with Autism.. this site was recommended through the webinar, and has information on recycled modern technology (blue tooth) to help those with Autism function in our world and be more independent.

Advancing Futures For Adults With Autism

Another site recommended through the webinar.. promoting helping those with Autism become not just functioning adults in our society, but to help them advance in the necessary social/community skills needed in order to become more independent in daily living and in a competitive workplace environment.

Dear Miss Melanie,

Sometime ago, you sent me four ounces of beautiful Polwarth fiber to try on my spinning wheel. I have to admit, it did sit in my stash for quite some time, alone, neglected and nearly forgotten for over a year. Last month I dusted off my spinning wheel, which was just as equally neglected with all the insanity that fills our daily lives in my household. I decided to look through the various fibers I have accumulated through my years as a spinner, feeling each one and waiting for something to speak to me.

There sat the lonely and unloved Polwarth, looking quite like the plain Jane in it’s un-dyed state. Quietly we looked at one another, appraising each other for the moment to see if we could speak to one another. I touched various wools and silks while the Polwarth continued to look at me, imploring me to pick it up just for a moment to see what wonders it could offer to me.

It took me a few moments to give in to its silent pleading, as it peeked out at me from the white tissue paper that you so carefully wrapped it in before sending it my way. Gently I pulled the thin paper away, letting the light touch the fibers that hid beneath, and then I reached in to take hold of the fiber as the paper fell to the floor without another thought.

I carried that fiber, that Polwarth, over to the spinning wheel and sat down in my chair with it. I touched it and caressed it, marveling at its fluffy softness. I laid it in my lap as I prepared my leader yarn on the bobbin, then attached the fiber to the leader as I began to spin.

It flowed through my finger tips smoothly, softly and effortlessly. I watched as it twisted gracefully, enjoying the way it just seemed to spin itself. It wasn’t long before the four ounces ended up on two bobbins, thinly spun and promising me something lace in its final state.

Slowly I plied it back unto itself, planning on creating a two ply yarn out of this heavenly fiber. I ended up with a very thin fingering weight at twenty two wraps per inch and a glorious 692 yards.

I wound it into skeins and left it sitting at my desk to enjoy. Each time I sat down at the computer, I would touch it, pet it and relish it’s softness. In my eyes, it was the perfect yarn. Now it was time to search for the perfect pattern for such a soft and luscious yarn. Out came the stacks of books with their collections of patterns. I hadn’t any idea of what I would make, but not one of my books contained a single pattern that gave me that singular and wonderful “Aha!” moment. My search progressed to blogs, pattern sites and Ravelry. Finally on Knitty, I found Franklin’s “Miss Lambert’s Lace Sampler” and knew that this would be perfect for a soft, smooshy scarf.

Carefully, I poured through Franklin’s instructions. I calculated exactly how many stitches I would have to cast on to make a nice, wide, soft, smooshy scarf. I wanted something wide, long and completely unlike anything that anyone else had. Each stitch smoothly made it’s way to the needle, the yarn feeling like a caress across my fingers. Day after day, I knit, loving the tactile pleasures going from the ball of yarn into the knitted stitches. Slowly, stitch by stitch it grew. Perfect yarn, perfect pattern, perfect width, and nearing the perfect length. There wasn’t a single thing to hate about any of it. Silently I vowed that one day I would order more Polwarth, knowing that it’s not a common wool here in America and that I will have to search far and wide for a suitable supplier where I don’t have to order in large quantities or pay extortion for shipping. But I planned to save that search for another day.

I began the final lace panel. My excitement grew as I realized that within the day, I would be weaving in the ends, washing the garment and blocking it to reveal all of it’s intricate lace work. Half way through the German Lace pattern of which I chose to repeat six times, I calculated that I only had 42 rows left. Then I glanced at the ball of yarn that I was working from…

There is no way that I will be able to squeeze 42 more rows out of the last bit of the yarn. I am short by 1/8 to 1/4 of an ounce…

I hate frogging… sigh.

Hugs,

Christine

As many of you know, our lives here are never boring. There is always something going on, whether we like it or not.

At 9:30 this morning, a suspicious device was found on the playground of Sydney’s school. Forty-five minutes later I received an automated call to notify me that the school had been evacuated as a precaution. The children and staff evacuated to the high school to the baseball field. The evacuation was anticipated to last for just an hour.

No details are out, but the evacuation is lasting longer. It is just eleven a.m. here and they anticipate the students will be eating at the high school. They have been moved to the boy’s gym and will eat in the cafeteria. There is no estimate of what time they will be released to their own school. The summer school program at the high school has been placed on lock down by the local police department, just as a precaution. Sydney’s school is only a mile from the house, and I didn’t hear a single emergency vehicle siren today, which I should have if they had them on.

I am sure that Sydney is okay, but I wonder if she managed to take her lunch with her. I hope so. She had some dental work done the other day and is still on semi soft foods. I don’t know what they are planning to feed the children if they didn’t bring their lunches and she can be such a picky eater. I  know that seems trivial to worry about given the situation, but in situations like this, you will be amazed what pops in your head.

I know that she will have quite a story to share when she comes home and I just hope that she isn’t too frightened about this. She and I have spoken about something like this before when a pipe bomb was found on the campus of one of the schools in our county. I made sure to let her know to never touch something that didn’t belong on the playground or school campus. It’s a sad commentary of our times when you have to teach your child things like that.

Now I need to find a way to distract myself so I don’t worry too much. She has a great teacher, and the staff at the school are fantastic, so  I do know that she is in very capable and safe hands. Still, I wish the day was over so she could come home and I could just give her a really big hug!

UPDATE: As of noon, Sydney’s school was allowed to return to campus. The package was filled with trash and the  threatening phone call some sick joke. The county Sheriff’s Bomb Squad did two sweeps of the campus and finally gave it the all clear. The school district has decided to resume the rest of the regular school day and she will be let out at the regular time. Thank goodness that she is safe and I can’t wait to see her, and wish I could get her early, but then that just might make her more afraid if she sees me not feeling comfortable with her being at school for the rest of the day. I do feel comfortable, but at the same time, I just need to throw my arms around her for my own reassurance!

What a day!

I am still here. Right now I am very angry over some things that are going on in my home state of California and how they will affect Nick and my job as a care giver for him. If I blog about it, I know that I will go into a major rant, and that’s something I would rather not do right now.

I have uploaded a new version of Maelstrom as well as a new errata file. There was an error in rows 44-54 (even rows only) that was caught the other day in the written section of the pattern on Chart B.

Hopefully, I will be blogging again soon. I just need to take a few deep breaths for a few days.

Yesterday I decided to try and find out more about the writing slope I received for my Mother’s day present, using nothing more than the computer that sits in front of me. The first clue I stumbled upon was the lock, which is half mortised (it is not completely set into the wood, the back panel of the lock is visible from the inside of the box, which is characteristic of boxes with locks made in both England and America during the 19th century.) I also found out that the key is a barrel type key which I suspect was brass plated at one time and the plating has been worn off through the years. The wear is appropriate for a key dating to the 19th century which leads me to believe that the seller was honest about this being the original key.

Next, I found an article about the wooden writing surface and that if they are original, they will be made up of three sections of wood for each side, which mine are.

Then I decided to challenge my eyesight and with my glasses and a small flashlight, I tried to make out the label from the original stationers that sold it so long ago.

G H something like an L Silsby and son?

Quickly I began to search on Google and I found him. G.H.H. Silsby and Son from Concord, New Hampshire. Actually I found quite a bit. Mr. George Henry Hough Silsby was born on February 2, 1817 in Hillsboro, New Hampshire. At the age of 15 (in 1832) he moved to Concord, New Hampshire. At the age of 23 (in 1840) he is mentioned as being part of the firm of Morrill and Silsby, book printers, book binders and stationers. He was part of the fire department as one of the officers in 1843, held office in the town council in 1845, one year after he married Sarah Frances Chickering. They had two sons together; Arther Wilson Silsbury who became an attorney and later a judge, and George Hough Silsbury who I am assuming was the son mentioned on the label. I have yet to find documentation of when G.H.H.Silsby and Son was in business, but I’m thinking of writing the Concord Historical Society to see if they have any records. I don’t think it would be unrealistic to date the writing slope to somewhere around 1850, making it approximately 150- 160 years old.

There is, however, one thing really throwing me off. The decoration on the box is much more suggestive of late 18th to early 19th century, no later than the third decade. Obviously I have a bit more hunting to do, and I am thinking of contacting someone who specializes in writing slopes to get their take on the age of the box.

This is probably boring to most of you. And yes. I know my inner geek is showing.

Hopefully every one has had a wonderful Mother’s Day.. whether they are still in the house, grown and gone their own ways. Be they covered in skin, feathers, fur or scales.. may all your babies make your proud hearts swell!

I must admit that I became a bit spoiled yesterday. Sydney dragged her daddy out of the house to do some shopping. She picked out the card, and selected the roses, deliberated which cake and reminded him to pick out a long silver chain with a trinket box to house it in. She decorated the envelope and planned the whole day. She seems to take great joy in doing this for every special occasion, and we are only to happy to let her have her bit of fun!

I promised you in my last post that I would share with you something that I got for myself as a very special treat. However, a very determined Spurg decided that he would buy it for me as part of my Mother’s day gifts. This is a very old key, a bit weathered and worn.

It fits in this lock, like it has for a hundred years. The brass could be polished to bring out the shine. But I like the aged look that it has gathered through time.

Here is the top, decorated in all of it’s intricate glory. A few little cracks, a few scratches and a small chip missing. It has been well loved and well used through the years.

The details are still stunning, the colors still bright.

Unlocked and opened. The gold tooling on the velvet has faded away. The velvet is cracked through the middle seam, a small corner is pulling up, and the ribbons to lift the skivers need to be replaced. The ink pot and pounce pot (filled with sand to absorb excess ink and quicken the drying of the ink) are missing, but that wasn’t a surprise. I will find some to replace them, maybe some reproductions. The hardware looks original and the interior is pretty clean. If I had to estimate the age on this old writing slope I would have to say 90 -100 years, but I’m no expert and that’s just a guess. The storage compartments are already filled; pen nibs, sealing wax, cotton paper and seal. (All newer, supplied by me.)

And on the bottom? The original labels, one from a store in Concord, NH, something and sons. The original stationers that sold it. The red bordered tag? The original price tag. It’s very difficult to read, but I think the price was in the $30 range, which would be about right for the time period that I think this came from. I have to admit, I did get this for a steal. Barely double the original price.

I consider myself a very tactile person. I prefer real books where I have to turn the pages. I love old and forgotten pages, that slightly dusty and musty smell that comes with being forgotten through time. Writing is the same way. There are times where the keyboard works just fine, where a story flows easily, but sometimes, I need to go back to the old ways of days gone by. Some paper, a pen and a little bit of quiet time. I am hoping that this writing slope will lend me a bit of inspiration. I can only imagine what has been written on it before. A young woman’s homework, first love letters, maybe a poem or two. I imagine that it held someones secrets, letters read until they became worn, bound with a silk ribbon and locked away inside. I imagine it once held dreams and memories for someone long ago. It will take time for us to become acquainted with one another, to get a feel for each others spirits. In time we will become old friends and share our own little secrets!

user ID: ******************

password: *****************

The keyboard sticks a little beneath my fingers. A new page opens. Move the mouse, click new post and yet another new page opens. Dust billows out from the computer monitor as I realize just how long it has been since my very last post. Cobwebs hang eerily down, I sweep my hands about to clear them out of my way and wait for the monitor to clear. Click, click, click. The more keys I click, the less they stick and I begin to try and think of something witty to write about. Witty seems to be beyond me at the moment and so, I will fall back to the latest news around here.

It’s been 10 1/2 long months since Spurg last worked at the local paper. Just a month and a half short of a year. We’ve economized, sacrificed anything that wasn’t necessary and completely retrenched. It hasn’t been easy and there were times where I would window shop online. Literally shop at a online store, put everything that caught my fancy into the cart, and then signed out of the site. There were days I searched through ebay at all the various goodies and I dreamed. And I managed to stay away from making any purchases that were over $5. Treats for myself became simple things, like a cup of my favorite English tea with some proper tea biscuits. Pulling some yarn out from my still fairly large stash and playing with a pattern. Sitting down with one of my favorite books, or my favorite DVD’s and just losing myself in another story.

It wasn’t as bleak as it all sounds and we found simple things to enjoy every day. Others have gone through times like these before us, some had it better and plenty had it worse. This is not the first time that families had have to make tough choices and it certainly won’t be the last. I’ve learned a lot about myself these past long months, things I had forgotten and things that I never knew.

I don’t need half the crap I buy. I know a lot of us have learned that one during this long recession. It’s amazing how much we do buy and how little we really do need it.

You can make soap using leftover bacon grease. No, I did not try this, although I must admit that it did intrigue me to read about the process to render the fat into lard and making soap from there. Soap is something I would like to try and make some day.

When it looks like there is no food to cook for dinner, scrounge through the entire kitchen and I can actually create a feast. I’ve also experimented with a few new bean recipes and can make red beans and rice that make you swear either you are in a serious hole in the wall soul food joint, or somewhere in the deep south!

I am not a Saint. No matter how much I try, in a house filled with people day after day and around the clock.. let’s just say that it’s not something that I overly enjoy each and every day. I miss silence. With almost everyone home.. someone is always making some sort of noise or talking. I really miss deep, peaceful silence and my alone time.

People need to put aside their differences and help each other out in any way that they can. Even if it doesn’t seem like a lot, with each and every person helping those around them, it can make a big difference.

Job hunting is a pain in the butt, plain and simple. I’ve been Spurg’s personal secretary all of these months. Searching the job postings online, informing him of employment workshops, proof reading his resume, and taking messages for those rare call backs for interviews. Unemployment applications are also a pain in the butt as well as the stupid reporting forms. You can’t get a real live person over the phone with the unemployment agency either.. I don’t think they actually exist.

Watching the news, the stock market, the housing market and the unemployment figures should be banned during any economic downturn. These four things are enough to destroy any hope of finding gainful employment. Last I heard, our unemployment was somewhere around 18% in our county. I’m sure it will continue to rise for a while.

When you begin to feel hopelessness, when you try to do all you can to pay all the bills, put food on the table, pay the rent and have a few bucks just in case. When you are sure that all the resumes and interviews won’t pan out, don’t lose heart because like the saying goes, every dog has his day.

I mean that, and I am going to say it again.. Every dog has his day.

We’ve been careful. We live within our means. We haven’t gone without meals or necessary items. We haven’t had to shut anything off to get by and we are not going to have to either. Yesterday morning, Spurg got the last of four phone calls from the past couple of weeks and as of tomorrow his new job title is a “Graphic Illustrator” for a packaging company here in town. It’s all of maybe a mile from our front door. He is pretty much guaranteed overtime. His hourly wage is more than what he was making at the paper (where he was grossly underpaid, no matter what they said), and promises of raises after a month.

I have a job too. Actually, I have more than one job, sort of. I am now paid through the county to provide daily services for Nick based on his daily living needs and his disability. It’s just a hair under 40 hours a month, but it’s a paycheck.

Then there’s the other job. Part of it I can mention, but the other part is still in the planning stages and may be a couple of years down the road. I am working on a book. I’m still stuck on the outline of it, but it’s a work in progress. Before you get all excited, it’s not a knitting book, nor any other craft book, but a book on hidden disabilities and I just hope I know enough to write a decent book and get it published.

Writing isn’t something that I have done well for quite some time now. No one has to tell me that. It used to be that when you came to this blog, there was a good chance you would be treated to stories of various sock thieves or my having to explain to Spurg how more yarn was coming to live with us. Lately the postings have been sparse and have lacked anything that resembles entertaining. They have been short and dry. Hello and this is what I have made. I haven’t enjoyed writing those posts as much as I enjoyed some of the past entries that I have made. I am quite determined that that will change. It will take a bit of practice to get back into my groove, to grasp my style again and that’s something that I am going to aim for. The content may not always be fiber related, but if I wait for the fiber only post, you might not hear from me for a very long time. We can’ t have that, now can we?

That’s not to say, of course, that I haven’t been making “things” , for I have been. I just haven’t been bothered to do the blocking, nor the photo taking. There are also other things I have to write about such as a contest, and something I treated myself to for the upcoming Mother’s Day on ebay that cost much more than a measly $5! (And hopefully it will arrive somewhere near Mother’s Day.. )

Now to set a goal. My goal is to blog at least once a week for now. I might blog more, but hopefully I won’t blog less. And yes, I know I still have emails to get to. (I’ve been a very bad emailer, sorry!)