*tap tap*…is this thing on?

Are you there, Dear Readers? It’s me, The Delinquent.

Or maybe, The Down. Or, The Drowned In So Much Rain Methinks the Sun Will Never Shine Again. Perhaps it has been too few mornings with said sun peering through the trees, or the two weeks+ of miserable head colds in this house, or maybe I am sharing in the longing as our seedlings get leggy trying to reach the outdoors. Whatever it is, I have not felt inspired to do much more than mope. A pile of dirty dishes is enough to make me want to cry. I don’t even know how many days ago it was that I took the above picture (in between the last long string of rainy days and this one), but at least it reminds me that the sun is still there somewhere, behind the Wall of Gray Formerly Known As the Sky (is there a symbol for that?).

These guys cheer me up a little. They have attitude. They also live under artificial sun at the moment, so are unsympathetic to my plight. But, you know, they’re Cute and sometimes they like to tolerate a snuggle.

The goslings pretty much live on Mars. They come when I honk, even though C can produce a much more realistic honk than I. When they grow up, they can live in one of the many lakes that are forming out on the back 7. I’m thinking about growing feathers and webs, myself, so I can live there, too. It certainly isn’t looking good for vegetables at the moment, so learning to eat grass and bugs might find it’s way onto my To Do list for the summer.

But, lo! I haven’t been entirely useless. Above are some of the goodies I have been updating the shop with this week. More to come this evening. Click the photo and it will take you to the shop, where you can play until the sun comes out again.

Oh, and THIS: *Saturday, May 21 from 10am-3pm*
Jamaica Fiber Festival @ the Jamaica Town Hall, Jamaica Village, VT. Local fiber folk with their wares, alpacas and bunnies, oh my!

I’ll be there with lots of everything. If you’re local, it’s a sweet event. Please come check it out!

Oh, and it’s INDOORS. (thunderstorms in the forecast, you know).

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in which I do a little housekeeping…

Remember when I used to tell you when I was going to be somewhere?

Yep. Me, too.

So, I cleaned some old junk off the sidebar and made up a pretty little list…it’s a place I plan to keep neat and tidy and…get this: updated. I know, I know…this is coming from the gal who forgot to even post a reminder about Baz Biz over the holidays. This is a bit of that Forward March I’ve been feeling…it’s a new year. And it’s shiny. Gonna keep it that way.

Here’s a breakdown of now thru June…busy, busy!

*this Saturday, March 26th!* Brattleboro Winter Farmer’s Market  from 10am-3pm Post Oil Solutions @ the River Garden on Main St in Brattleboro, VT. Please join us for the last Winter Farmer’s Market of the season!

*May 6 from 6pm-9pm and Saturday May 7 from 10am-6pm* Twist Fair @ the Northampton Center for the Arts in Northampton, MA. 60+ fabulous vendors. VIP passes are available for early admission on Friday night.

*Saturday, May 21 from 10am-3pm*
Jamaica Fiber Festival @ the Jamaica Town Hall, Jamaica Village, VT. Local fiber folk with their wares, alpacas and bunnies, oh my!

*Saturday, June 4th from 10am-6pm*
Queen City Craft Bazaar @ the Union Station at One Main St in Burlington, VT. This one is a new event for me with 40+ juried Vermont indie crafters.

The task for April is to work hard on the Dyeworks and Lounge, hopefully to have an opening celebration sometime in May. So far, we have lumber for all the work tables and shelving and C may begin work on that important piece of the space as soon as tomorrow. I cannot wait to see how it all comes together…

Oh, and there’s this: CAMP PLUCKYFLUFF VT! I can’t think of a better way to christen the new workshop space than to invite Lexi back for another round of Camp Pluckyfluff. It’s happening the weekend of June 25/26, people, and I also can’t think of a better time to come and play in VT, so…sign up! Advanced and first-time students are welcome. Go HERE and scroll down for registration details.

And and and…April 9th I will be teaching a workshop on cobweb felt at Knit or Dye in Brattleboro, VT. Contact Rachel at 802-258-9100 to sign up!

Whew! I think that’s enough for now. Time for tea.

Butter, Whining and…a Giveaway!

When the world gives you rain…and LOTS of it…make butter.

Miss M used pasteurized cream and it came together very quickly and while the butter was very nice, it left her with thin, watery buttermilk. My mother-in-law put lemon salt in half of the butter, which was AWESOME.

I cannot digest pasteurized milk so I used fresh raw cream for my butter and while it took forever to separate, I have rich buttermilk (we will use it for baking) and amazing butter. I thought about adding herbs while it was so soft and creamy, but it seemed a shame not to allow the full butter flavor to  be the star of the show…just some salt and it’s perfect. I think I need a churn. And a dexter cow.

Which would require getting away from this horrid urbanity. It’s killing me slowly and I need to get back to the woods. After four years away, the Bay Area feels stifling and oppressive. I am adrift, cut off from my dearest friends and community whom I left 3000 miles behind, longing to return to my rural existence. I thought I would feel somehow at home, coming back here, but I just feel like I’m going to crawl out of my own skin.

Our search takes us up into Oregon…the job hunt is difficult without word-of-mouth connections as we had in Vermont, but perhaps enough of our at-home biz pursuits will come to fruition so as not to need the day job. We shall see.

In the meantime, I’m working on wholesale orders this month, scheduling workshops and stocking up for a new event:

CRAFT HAPPY! This event is happening March 20th, 10AM at the Niles Banquet Hall in Fremont, CA. I’ll post more about it later as the event gets closer, but if you’re local, please do save the date!

And, because every stormy day needs a GIVEAWAY…

Please leave a comment on this post between now and Friday midnight and I will draw a winner on Saturday for the above-pictured ‘Tangled’ nuno felt scarf/necklace.

One stipulation: in your comment, tell me something about yourself and/or ask me a question you’d like me to answer. No pressure. If you want to just tell me your favorite ice cream flavor, that will do as well. 🙂

Off to read to the Boy, and when C gets home from working on a leaking roof (which I’m thrilled about him doing in this thunderstorm, let me tell you) they are going to build a doghouse for a certain favorite stuffed animal. Wednesday has been “woodworking day” these past few weeks, and it’s been a joy and a challenge to find projects that hold the Boy’s interest…so far, we know he does not enjoying prolonged periods of sanding. Today, he’ll be hammering in pegs…I’m pretty sure that will bring him a great deal more satisfaction. 🙂