Contest Update And Improved Mood

Tomorrow night, right at this very time...well, maybe not at the time you are reading this. What I mean is, "the same time as I am typing this..." If you get a mental picture of me sitting on my couch surrounded by hungry cats, piles of stuff that should have been put away three weeks ago and Mountain Dew caps, look at the clock in the background and see that it is something like 7:30 in the evening, then you will have a general idea of what I'm trying to say.

Are we all on the same page? Sort of? Even the teeniest little bit? Close enough.

Any-hoo...at "this" time tomorrow night, I will be at the Relay For Life. Me, my rash and my rubber lung will be gearing up for a very, very long walk. This should be interesting, if nothing else, right? I'd like to take a minute to thank each and every one of you who made a donation to my sponsorship site. Your names have all been entered in a drawing to win one of a few very fabulous-type prizes. Trust me. It's the least I can do. I sort of got a little sidetracked with the whole Monkey Pox thing and and fundraising ground to a halt for a while there. If not for my blog-related fundraising, there would be naught but that which Mommy Sheep kicked in. And there is every possibility that Baby Brother Sheep would have raised more money than I. This is, in a word, "unthinkable!" Thanks to those of you who donated I have helped my walk-mates remain in the top five teams for fundraising, have raised a goodly amount of money for cancer research and, not that this is the most important thing by any stretch of the imagination, I have knocked Baby Brother Sheep out of the park. Metaphorically speaking...

I have one more prize to show before I go back to reviewing my Relay List Of Stuff That You Have To Pack Or Will Suffer Dire Consequences Like Freezing To Death Or Being Short On Rice Crispy Squares. This one comes to you courtesy of Teri. For you spinners out there, I give you:

The World's Most Giant Ball Of Jacob. (Big, Fluffy Kitty Added For Scale)

There is a kitty toy in the background there which you can also use for scale or as evidence of my having given up on picking up after the cats. This is a lovely, soft roving and there is over a pound of it! Don't let Persephone's apparent disinterest fool you. She was rather taken with this fiber...she is just playing hard to get in this shot.

Anyone who is interested in being entered in the drawing still has plenty of time to do so. And thank you again for your support be it monetary or just a good old-fashioned, "Go, Sheepie! You can do it. Walking in a circle for 18 hours is your thang! You will rock the track, girlfriend!!!" Or something like that...you can make up your own cheer if you want. I'm not fussy. Just needy.

I'll be drawing for the prizes sometime next week. I am waiting until next week because, as I may have mentioned once, twice or a thousand times, I will be on school vacation next week. I will be on school vacation until September. I will not be working. I will be at home. I am officially handing everyone's children back to them for two months and change. It's not that it wasn't a good time and all. But it is over. They are yours as of noon tomorrow. Thanks for loaning them to me. I've enjoyed it. Honest. Please take them home now...

It has been quite a week here at Sheepie's House Of Creaking Lungs And Itchy Arms. The rash has responded somewhat to the Benadryl and I'm willing to live without sleep in order to get some relief from that. (antihistamines give me the jitters something wicked!!!) My allergies have gotten in the way of my really getting past the Monkey Pox, although the last x-rays showed improvement. Unfortunately, the last x-rays also showed one area that just doesn't seem to want to clear up completely and now I have to have a CT scan. With "contrast," thank you very much. Bleh. (not to worry, folks...this little spot is already on record and hasn't done much in the last ten years it has been in residence) School has been challenging, to put it mildly as the darling children are just as ready to see the last of their dear Ms. Sheep as she is to put them on their buses tomorrow.

Looooooong week...very long.

But happiness does tend to come my way thanks to the nice people at the post office. And Cathy. Look at what came for Sheepie today!

I opened this box and it all fairly leaped out at me! It was scary...but in a good way.

Look carefully. Do you see the wee, little onyx spindle in there? Is that not the dearest little thing you've ever seen? Don't let the size fool you, though. This little feller has some heft to it and wants to spin like the big boys. I'm still fiddling with it and seeing what it will do for me. And never has fiddling been such fun, let me tell you! In addition to a spindle from Cathy's very own collection there is Shetland, (a new favorite of mine!) Rambouillet, more Shetland, lots of yummy silk blended in there and did I mention the Shetland???? There are fibers ready for the spinning and fibers that want a little bit of flicking. (I like to do a little more processing of the fiber in the summertime. It just seems more appealing at that time of the year for some reason...) I'll update you as each fiber hits the various wheels and spindles and you can just gaze longingly at the bounty that is mine. This was such a generous gift, Cathy! Your taste in fiber is just exquisite and I hope I can do this lot justice. Thank you so very much for a timely gift box. There are many, many children who will have a better last-day-of-school tomorrow thanks to you. I fail to see how I can get cross with a single one of them when I'm all grinning and thinking of my fiber box.

And now, this Sheep must bid you all a fond farewell as she returns to organizing for tomorrow's big day. As is my custom, I will be away from the keyboard on Friday and will probably not have a chance to see you all on Saturday what with the walking and complaining about walking and all. Sunday will probably be your next update. Wish me luck!

Or wish my teammates luck. Or maybe my students. Or my co-workers. Any of the preceding will have to deal with me for rather lengthy periods of time tomorrow under circumstances that are not necessarily Sheep Friendly.

SA