Life's Little Surprises

Surprises come in two forms. The first is the "Yippeeeeee" kind. When that happens to you, you do all sorts of fun little dances, make joyful squealing noises and maybe even need to excuse yourself to wipe a tear or two from your eye. They are happy tears that come from the overflowing of the joy as opposed to the "just stubbed your toe and are trying not to swear in front of the children" kind.

Then there are the "Booooooooo" surprises. I've had my share of those over the last few weeks. It was quite the surprise to find myself stranded on the side of the Maine Turnpike when I thought I was going to work. I was a bit shocked to find out that my Dreamy Mechanic made something of a judgement error with regard to what was wrong with my truck and that this error was going to end up costing me thousands of dollars. Imagine what surprises lay in store for me should I ever follow through on the plan to make DM my first husband. I shudder to think what our grocery bill will amount to. I'll send the little feller out for milk and he'll come home with magic beans or something...

I think I prefer the Happy Surprises. Like, oh, I dunno....perhaps learning that you might just have a wee bit of skill with a drop spindle? This is bound to come as a surprise when you have already attempted this feat and had little success. But, with the aid of a new spindle that was clearly made with just this Sheep in mind and the perfect fiber, it seems that the spindling was within my grasp all along.

I know, right??? Shocking!!!!

This is not what you would call "speed spinning" by any stretch of the imagination nor is is perfect on any scale of measurement. But, by golly, even I have to step back and admit that it is pretty darned good. Especially if you consider that it is the second thing that I have spun on a drop spindle in well over five years. The fiber is a decadent blend from Wooly Wonka and is comprised of a huggable alpaca, a snuggly angora bunny and a generous donation from a few silk worms who knew their job. I will admit to having a weak moment where I considered plying it on the wheel just for the sake of speed. (and there was a little of the fear involved...what if it turned out that I was an absolute dunderhead at plying with the spindle???) But, in the end, I decided to follow through with the original plan and complete the whole process in the manner it was begun. As a result, I think that you will be forced to suffer through "Progress On The Shire Blend" updates on a regular basis for an annoyingly long time. I'll just apologize in advance for that...

Many will be pleasantly surprised to learn that I have actually finished my taxes. I will give them one more critical review and then send them winging on their electronic way either tonight or first thing tomorrow morning. My tax situation isn't especially complicated so they aren't really all that challenging to complete. And, given that I have owed small amounts to the state over the past few years, it makes more sense for me to wait a bit to give the tax man my money. I don't think I've ever been quite this stingy about paying the man, though. Even I was getting a bit nervous about when I might find some interest in the whole matter of keeping myself out of federal prison. (Yeah...I make so darned much that the name of The Sheep will be uttered with all other famous income tax evaders for decades to come) But they are done and, for the first time in several years, Mr. Taxman actually owes me for all my living on a single teacher's salary.

You can't have all happy surprises, though. You're bound to have a few of the nasty ones, no matter what. Mother Nature has one that she has been holding back for a few days and is planning to release upon my head tomorrow. A massive storm is bearing down on us as I type. There will be snow, but the amounts probably won't be all that bad. There will be rain and those amounts may be of some concern. Then there will be the high winds. Now, she has my attention. When you put all these things together, it generally means that I will be looking for an unwelcome guest, specifically The Ocean. This is flood weather. And, while I'm a mile away from the beach, it can still really complicate my life and be cause for worry when I get to thinking about the people I like who live a bit closer to water's edge than I.

With this upcoming event rattling about in my brain, I heeded the call of Hysterical Mind bright and early. She urged me to head out for batteries and peanut butter in order that we might ride out the storm with our battery operated television and high protein snacks close at hand. Nine times out of ten, HM's prophecies of doom, gloom and the end of days are a bit exaggerated. But when she's right, she's right and I'm always grateful to her for forcing me to keep a few supplies at the ready.

But, time stuck inside is good for a few things. Most notably, it is time for more of the plying of the pretty, pretty Shire Blend. Not a bad way to start off my spring break!

Did I happen to mention that I am officially on vacation now? ::grinning broadly::

SA