It Is Never Simple...

The scene in The Sheep household early this morning:

The Sheep is awakened by the inner dialogue that she has come to dread. It is the voices of Hysterical Mind and Rational Mind and their bickering signals the beginning of some new conflict that will make no sense to the outside world on any real level. She settles back under the covers to wait out the war and bow to the wishes of the victor.

Rational Mind: C'mon!! Up and at 'em! We've got places to go, people to see...the day awaits!

Hysterical Mind: (muffled and sleepy) ...don' wanna!

RM: Let's go!!!!! We are going to SPA today and I want to get there right when the vendors are opening. That's not going to happen if we go through our usual morning "wakey-wakey drama." Move it!

HM: Nooooooooooo....

RM: Oh for crying out loud! What is the problem?

HM: We have a cold. We shouldn't be out with a cold. Let's just stay in bed.

RM: The cold is better. And I want a navajo spindle. Get up. Now.

HM: I think we have leprosy. I saw a dry patch on our forehead last night. Going out with leprosy would be irresponsible....

RM: I'm sensing a deeper issue, here. And I don't care. Get up.

HM: (pauses, then says in low tones) It is my understanding that there will be people there.

RM: Yes, yes there will be people there. And we have told many of those people that we are going. Thus, I repeat...get up!!!

HM: You know I don't do well with "others." I get all, well..."hysterical." People think we are like we are on the blog! We aren't always like that! We aren't all that witty when we don't have a delete key. You have seen how I act under pressure! It doesn't go well. I make fart jokes for god sakes!!! Our last post was a fart post...do you honestly think I will be able to keep from farting once I realize that I have mocked farts and can never fart again???? Let's just stay home and watch cartoons like we usually do. It'll be fun. I'll mix up some Nyquil/Mountain Dew cocktails and we can fritter away the day.

RM: Aren't you the one who is always saying that we will one day be kidnapped by eco-terrorists and that no one will notice we are missing for weeks? You actually went on for days about how they would probably force feed us flax seed and acorns. Meeting people is a good thing. The more people who know us, the faster we are missed, get our face on that milk carton and keep the seed eating to a minimum.

HM: I'll wait it out and make friends with the eco-terrorists. I'm sure that they are just misunderstood. Living in a tree won't be that bad...

RM: I am so not kidding here...we are going. We have a plan and we are sticking to it. We are now officially fifteen minutes behind schedule and I am cutting off your supply of chocolate and cold medications if you do not suck it up and get with the program!!


It all went on for a while. HM did, in fact, get out of bed. But the concerns with regard to social behavior continued to rear their ugly heads throughout the morning grooming routine. In the end. RM was able to negotiate the outing successfully by promising HM that she didn't have to talk to anyone that she didn't want to and that she could live in her protective social bubble for the entire event if necessary. RM, normally the fiscally responsible one of the bunch, was itching to spend some cash on spinning supplies and was not going to be deterred by HM's mild social anxiety.

In the end, we almost had a little problem that kept us in the dooryard for the day. I happened to notice that one of my tires was looking a little soft. Mushy, actually. Fortunately, this is easily dealt with as I am a single gal from waaaay back and know that a girl's best friend is her tire pressure gauge. I also know how to use the air machine at the local 7/11 so the tire was restored to its round and solid glory in short order. Daddy Sheep is just glowing with paternal pride right now, I'm sure. That glow would diminish a bit should he ever realize how low I'd allowed that tire to get...but we'll just keep that between us, OK?

Me 'n my warring brain cells arrived at the Doubletree Hotel with only one wrong turn to our credit and we were suddenly in The Promised Land!!! There were spinning wheels and fibers as far as the eye could see! There were also spinners and fiber enthusiasts as far as the eye could see. HM's concerns with regard to having to socialize on any level were quickly put to rest as light chit-chat was simply impossible in the small vendor room. HM was also rather excited by all the pretty colors and textures and soon began giddily zipping about from booth to booth in order that she might leave behind a trail of cash and credit card slips. RM fought bravely at the reins, determined to seek out the desired navajo spindle before all cash was spent on sheep earrings, sheep tape measures, sheep necklaces, sheep mugs and other sheep related items that HM found amusing.

Despite the hummingbird approach, I was able to connect with Amy for a brief moment at her booth. I also made a point of checking in with Susan from Goose Pond as I've wanted to commend her on her amazing customer service for some time now. I then ran into Noolie, who is one of the few knit bloggers who knows me in real life and can pierce my undercover status at fiber events. This was a good thing as she reminded me about Tuesday night's Chicks With Sticks meeting. I'd put that on the calendar for this week then forgot about it during the bout with the Squirrel Pox/Horrid Cold. I'm glad that she reminded me as I've got a sock in progress that has just been clamouring for a field trip.

The navajo spindle, however, eluded me. I guess that will just have to stay on the shopping list for a while longer. There were one or two other purchases...well, maybe just a bit more than that. My only excuse is that, like many people, I don't live in a world where purchasing spinning supplies means just a quick detour on the way home. Heck, I don't even have a conveniently located LYS at this point! So to be able to actually fondle the fibers rather than seeing them on a computer monitor before hitting "add to cart" was a true luxury! What can I say? I am weak...

Persephone examines the day's loot and the reason why she will need financial aid if she is to attend that ivy league school she's been looking at.

Desdemona, who long ago accepted that her education comes in a sorry second to Mommy's fiber obsession, does not even wake up when posed with the new drop spindle.

In the end, both RM and HM were pleased with the day's activities and were rewarded for their good behavior with a nice nap when we arrived back at the homestead. There has also been a bit of the spindling throughout the afternoon. Not great spindling, mind you. But, I am pleased to report that a good spindle actually does wonders for my spinning and I'm thinking I might actually be better at this than I thought I was. I put away the drop spindle years ago and have spun on a wheel ever since. I think I might see why people use those simple little tools, though. A good quality spindle really makes all the difference...

And that, my friends, is my SPA Knit And Spin report for 2007. I'm sure that others will be able to give a more coherent account and I hope that having a year's experience under my belt will give me a less adrenalin-fueled view of the event in 2008!

And, by then, I may have even spun or knit half of what I acquired today...

SA