My sister, the indoor green thumb wizard

Or is that Wizardess?

Either way, my sister is a genius when it comes to raising indoor flora.  For Christmas last year, we bought her one of those mushroom growing kits.  It comes in a brown cardboard box, with "mushroom compost that has already been prepared and inoculated with the white colored mushroom mycelium" and some pretty specific instructions.

I was hoping that it would work and she wouldn't just end up with a mushy wet cardboard box full of goo.  Well it did work and here is proof:

Mushrooms in a box!

Pretty amazing, isn't it?  While I have been unable to keep any type of houseplant alive (ever), here is my sister growing Gourmet Portabellas in a box.

She emailed me that photo yesterday.  I emailed back this message:

"Wow!  That is awesome.  I am so glad (and a little relieved) that it is working.  I was worried that it might be like those amaryllis bulbs that one can get for Christmas in a pretty pot.  Every time I have tried that what I end up with is a pretty pot with a rotten, moldy glob in it..."

So today she emailed me this photo in an email titled: Like this?

Amaryllis, not a rotten glob...

 Uh-huh.  She's a stinker all right.  It's a good thing that I love her.

P.S. If you are interested in trying to grow Mushrooms in a Box, here is the website where I ordered them: Mushroom Adventures 

and I do not know of  a place to get Amaryllis bulbs, so don't even ask.

I'm going to Summer Camp!!

Oh my gosh... I can hardly believe it.  I have been dreaming about Horse Camp for 2 years now, trying to figure out how to make it work.  Well, apparently asking the universe is how to make it work!!

In this post I practiced the Law of Attraction: you know-asking the universe for what you want. And, by golly, it worked!

This is the chain of events that precipitated this most awesome outcome:

First- The Asking.   This was more difficult than you might think.  Even when it is completely clear to you what you want, it still feels selfish to ask.  You start second-guessing yourself, wondering if you really deserve "whatever it is".  All I can say, is if it is something you really want, put it out there.  and then prepare yourself to take the next step, which is:

Recognize the opportunities.  When I wrote my blog post about Horse Camp, Rother Horsemanship commented with ideas on how to decrease the cost- which was really my biggest obstacle challenge.  Since one of the reasons I want to go to camp is because I don't think I can do the basic exercises (more about that later...), I figured becoming a "club member" was my ticket to a discount!  Well, the universe provided again- (or really Rother Horsemanship did...) Club memberships were on sale!  I joined up (which has been totally fun in and of itself!) and now I qualified for a 20% discount!

Then I got a Christmas bonus, so I could put a deposit down for camp. Now, the key step:
Commitment. did I want to go enough to commit to it? This is where the Universe lays your wish at your feet and you have to decide if you are going to pick it up and run with it or turn your back on it.
For me, this step involved a lot of question asking- What are the available dates? Can I even make these dates work? Can I get time off?  Is my dear husband willing to take care of the ranch while I am gone?  If I choose a date and then later it doesn't work, what are my options? Once Brian and I hammered out all the details, the biggest question remained and only I could answer it:

Will this decision lead me in the direction I want to go?

Wow. Okay, that is a big question, mostly because then I have to figure out what is the direction I want to go.

Yes, camp would be fun.
Yes, I would get to spend quality time with other horsey people.
But, when it comes right down to it: am I willing to spend the money and time to just goof around? Maybe the answer is yes, and that's okay- we all deserve some play time. 

However, when I really, truly looked at it... what am I craving?, what direction do I most sincerely want to move in?  it is very clear that what I want is more confidence in me.  I am tired of being stuck in the front field due to my own fears.  I have tried on my own to move my horse out into the "big country", but never get farther than our neighbor's driveway. He dances and whinnies and we retreat to our safety zone.  Reading and watching videos, I know what needs to happen- we need to keep working at it, expanding that comfort zone.  However, I have done what I can do by myself- I am ready for professional intervention!

Decision made.  The rest is just...
Follow through.  I made the deposit.  I was committed (to camp, not "committed").  This is when the Universe truly opened up and provided.  I figured I would just pay a little off each month until July.  Well, Rother Horsemanship offered another deal (can you tell I love them?) that you could save yet another $200 by paying the full tuition by January 15th.  And, coincidentally (if you believe anything is a coincidence...), my dearest husband received a small windfall that allowed us to pay off the balance of tuition before the 15th!!

I am still a little bit in awe of this series of events... and I promise to make the best of my good fortune.  Cheyenne (that's my horse) and I are already working on "Level 1 groundwork" and he is so good at it! I am still trying to not hang myself with the excess lead rope...
I am totally enjoying the HorseBook club- always good advice, you can ask all sorts of questions and gain knowledge from the answers to other people's questions.  There are video clips and photos- it's awesome. 
And in addition to my free DVD (Series II), I pulled out our Series I DVDs and am enjoying them as well.

This whole experience has done two amazing things for me already (and I haven't even gone to summer camp yet!)

1. Totally confirmed my belief in asking the Universe and letting it provide.
2. Renewed my excitement about working with my horse.

 So thank you, all of you who showed an interest in my summer camp wishes.  I feel that making it a real request here, for all 6 of you to see, helped me believe in it.  And believing in it made it happen.

It's just like Brian says about anything we want to make happen:
Put it on the calendar.

Sage advice. I did it.  Now what do you want to put on your calendar?

My Sister's Birthday!!

Happy Birthday to you... Happy Birthday to you...

Yes, it's true.  My sister had a birthday last month and I have been dying to write about the placemats I wove for her!  But, I didn't want to spoil the surprise- now she has them and I can show you all photos!!

It all started a year ago, when she asked me to weave her new placemats for her birthday this year.  I tormented her with photos, questions- What colors, what pattern, what size?? And she dutifully answered everything, picked a pattern, suggested colors... so I went ahead and did something totally different!! I know, I know, I'm like that.

Four Placemats

I wanted to use the warp that I painted in the class I took with Kristie at Blue Flag Handweaving Studio.  It was originally supposed to be for scarves, but my sister didn't want scarves... She wanted placemats!  The painted warp is perle cotton and the colors don't show up very well in this photo, but they are the lighter stripes.  Then I had to buy some blue perle cotton for accent stripes and weft.  I did use some of my stash for the green and yellow (can't really see the yellow...) stripes.  This is also cotton, but it is cotton rug warp.

And then, I suddenly got tired of the blue perle cotton and was forced to buy some beautiful dark green- thus 2 blue napkins and 2 green napkins.

2 blue, 2 green

Things I learned:

• a plain weave border looks nice, but takes up differently than a twill body.  Next time, use basket weave for the border (thanks Kathy!)
• Perle cotton and rug warp cotton are not the same, they have different stretch and shrinkiness (yes, I made that word up!)
• I hate sewing.  Well, not exactly true, I don't hate it, I am just not good at it- even seams, I couldn't sew a straight line if my life depended on it!
• Napkins and placemats don't HAVE to be square...
• 6 yds of warp is A LOT of warp.
• I love packaging things! One of the most fun parts was folding these up and tying them with pretty twine and a label.

Pretty twine and label (complete with pink kitty button accent!)

Beautiful placemat!!

Napkins and Placemats

So there they are- Birthday placemats!  (plus bonus napkins)

Next up... Crochet mania

Hope you all have a very Happy Holiday!!!

Customer Service is NOT dead!

I just wanted to write a quick note about one of the best experiences I have ever had with any company.

NITE IZE 

I know, the name is interesting isn't it?  It all started last year, when somehow, in my internet wanderings, I came upon this:

What is it??!!

Is it a Christmas ornament? no. 
Is it that little ball that jumps from word to word on the karaoke screen? no.
Spaceship? nope.

It is only the most fabulous winter toy for a deaf dog with a "play ball" obsession.  It is called the Meteorlight K-9 LED Dog Ball.  It is a basically indestructible rubber ball with an LED light inside.  so it lights up at night!!! (well it lights up during the day too, but it is a little less dramatic...)


We got the Disc-O color, which is the one that cycles through all the colors- so very cool.  The other big bonus is that it fits right into the Chuck-it ball launcher.  (if you don't know what that is, you either don't have a dog that likes to fetch or you don't mind slobber hands)


So... Awesome Possum.  My husband threw and threw it, Bear dog could always find it because it glows. (since Bear dog is deaf, if he can't see where it went, you have a 20 minute search for the toy on your hands...)  Everything was ducky, except... Bear is what they call a "power chewer".  He has destroyed everything that he can get in his mouth.  I don't think it is intentional, just another dimension of his obsession.  So there he is running back, in the dark, just a colorful light bounding our way- and the light goes off, and comes on and goes off and then kind of stutters on ... Hmmm. weird.


As a little background, to turn on the Disc-O light, you have to really (and I mean REALLY) mash on the plug that contains it.  I can't do it unless I push it on a table corner - it is that tough.  I imagine a more "normal" dog would never be able to turn it on and off, but that little boy of ours is a pain in the butt, obsessive, special.


Anyway, when he destroyed the light last year I made an email comment to the company through their website, explaining what had happened and how much we loved the toy, even though it couldn't stand up to Bear Jaw.  I wasn't at all upset, just wanted to let them know our experience.  They immediately contacted me back and sent 2 free replacement balls!  yes- that's right- 2-free! Because they believe in their products.


My husband made a slight modification to the plug, hoping to keep Bear from being able to operate the switch. It worked moderately well, but Bear's chewing gum behavior eventually killed both LEDs... ho hum, no light ball for the boy.


This year, while shopping for some option (maybe a glow in the dark, with no electronics) I was inevitably drawn back to the Meteorlight- it really is that cool.  I posted another comment to the company explaining that we loved it and wished it were appropriate for our dog.  Once again, they contacted me with an offer to replace the ball for free with any of their other LED products!! I gave them a couple of suggestions for bear-proofing that we had thought of and we arrived at a mutually acceptable resolution for this winter.

I am Wowed by this company- so friendly, so on the ball (no pun intended!) and so willing to work with a customer- simply fantastic.  So, check out their website- they have all kinds of cool stuff there, even an astronaut pen - like from the Seinfeld episode, "Take the pen!, No, I couldn't, Take it!" (although this is the Inka Pen you can still write upside down)


and here is a picture of the destroyer sweet little boy all this work has been for:

Bear boy

I know, right?  He doesn't look like he could chew the crap out of anything...