The Good, The Bad, and The Sheepy

The Sheepy
I made it to the MA Sheep and Woolfair in Cummington on Saturday. Unfortunately, I was herding some hot and unruly children, so it wasn't the most relaxing day for me. But it was fun to run into some blogging friends and to fondle all the fiber. The girls made some felt balls, and--with help--my eldest spun some yarn using a CD drop spindle.
Believe it or not, I bought no fiber. Not a bit. But I picked up a pair of small hand cards because I want to experiment with doing some fiber/color blending for some felting projects.

The Disappointing
I couldn't make it to Cate's blegger because I had to go to Home Depot. On a Saturday night. Why? Because my bathroom looked like this:
Yes, it's phase two of the bathroom renovation, and of course it's taking about twice as long as we planned to get everything done. This picture is actually from Friday. By Saturday DH had ripped out the cabinet and vanity and the rest of the ugly blue tile, and by Monday he had most of the drywall up. Next weekend he'll work on the wainscoting. Good times. (Did I mention that this is our only full bathroom?)

The Fabulous Get-Up-And-Have-A-Dance-Party Day
Anyone recognize the guy in the green jacket?
If you don't, you clearly aren't the hip parent of a child between the ages of two and six. Yep, that's Dan Zanes, and we saw him perform in Burlington, Vermont last week. My kids loved the show, and the new musicians that are performing with him were great. One of my "mom" friends who attended the concert with us noted that his music is the current soundtrack of her family's life, and I must admit that his songs accompany a lot of our activities as well.

The Mouth Watering
I won a copy of Simply in Season Children's Cookbook in a contest on Liz's blog! The girls loved looking through it and they are now so excited about going to the farmer's market this year. I always enjoy reading Liz's blog; not only have I learned a lot about the politics of food from her posts, but I have successfully made yogurt and started tomato plants with her help. Go check out her recent post on making mozzarella cheese, because you'll be reading more about that here soon.

The Bad
Allergy season. Love the flowers, hate the pollen.

The Great
I have arranged to take eight unpaid weeks of leave from my job this summer, with the goal of being home with my kids and taking some time to relax and Just Be. (And maybe knit/spin/play the ukulele.)

The Bad
Part of the reason that I took leave is that my father's health is rapidly failing, and I anticipate many drives to northern NH in the next few months.

The Utterly Overwhelming:
I have been a member of a lovely private pond/swim club for seven years. We have about 160 families that share a fabulous property. It is completely volunteer-run, with lifeguards being the only paid staff. This tiny beach area has been a lovely oasis in my life, both physically and mentally. So last year I joined the board. Which was good. This year I was talked into being vice-president, which has also been good. But then there was an ugly situation and the president of the board quit suddenly in mid-May, two weeks prior to opening weekend. I am now unexpectedly in charge of....well, everything: taxes, audits, insurance, property management, payroll, and about thirty other things that I do not know how to do. I know I have the skills to do all these things, but I do not yet have the knowledge, and I feel completely overwhelmed and anxious. Thankfully the other board members are great and we are all pulling together, but this first month is going to be very difficult. I have lost a lot of sleep over this, and I have spent a great deal of time sorting through the 50 years of files that arrived at my house in a jumble looking like this:
This is so NOT how I planned to spend my summer vacation.

And, Last But Not Least: The Thank-Goodness-I-Get-A-Night-Out-Tonight
Am heading out with a friend to see the Yarn Harlot in Northampton. I'm not the one driving, so look for me near the cash bar.