Excited about T coming out. Trying to get the backyard looking better so we can lounge out there and have tea or something. Don't want to spend the time gazing about me in horror, now do I?

Today I sprayed the Foul Corrupt Weed (Bermuda Grass) in the backyard with the Vile Evil Spray. "Sometimes you have to fight evil with another kind of evil" (thank you Judi Dench) The guy at the Vile Evil Spray company said that Ornamec was like roundup but they didn't want to pay to have it tested so it came with all these warnings. It smells very petrol-chemical-ish though, and I treated it like it was just as noxious as the instructions say. I sprayed out by the mailbox in front, the ornamental garden in back and I even went so far as to spray the place that is supposed to house the blackberries (they died this year) but not the place near the house in the front; that's staying organic.

Zoe went to the State Fair with her friends--Scotty, Mary, Liz and Hai Tu. She didn't have as good of a time as she would have liked. They wandered around the animals too long for her taste and then the rides made her sick. Mary spent all her money on food and then sulked till they gave her tickets. Towards the end though, Zoe gave Mary all of her left over tickets because she was turning green and no longer wanted to use them.

Zoe is making costumes for all of her friends and herself. Wand making is on hold while I contemplate how I always get myself caught up in a perfectionistic tizzy that ends up in me not getting anything done. Zoe's costumes may not be perfect, but they are getting done.

I got David's Enterprise model. Looking into getting it lit and trying not to be perfectionistic about it.

We had ribs tonight YUM!!! Rob is such a thoughtful guy, I said I was jonesing for some the other night and he stopped at the store and bought some!

Dyeing To Dye

Arrrgh, the internet is is barely working. It keeps cutting out and a page can either load in an instant or take 5 minutes.Every time Blogger auto-saves I have to wait for the spinning ball of death to stop while it tries to contact the account.

I dyed--actually am dyeing some alpaca wool I got off eBay from Peru. It's supposed to be 100% alpaca, I'm hoping but I'm skeptical. In the past I've gotten some sweaters and some yarn that were supposed to be 100% alpaca that were instead obvious mixes of alpaca and wool. This yarn is soft though, not scratchy like the sweaters and other yarn so I'm cautiously optimistic. In anycase, if it is a wool blend it can only help the dyeing process.

Last time I dyed alpaca I dyed it with some wool. The wool came out a lovely shade, and the alpaca came out a wan pastel. I have heard that alpaca can be notoriously difficult to dye--although many suppliers seem to do a bang up job of it.

I'm dyeing the yarn a burgandy/vermillion mix hoping to make Gryffindore colors for a scarf. I'm dyeing it in the oven and keeping notes--I'm very impressed with myself. I don't know if I'm making it for me or for a Christmas gift, but I did a lot of research and the dye was cheaper than new yarn and this allows me to use up some of my stash. It's going to be a very crafty Christmas.

Dye Notes
10 Cups Vinegar
10 Cups Water
1/3 Cup Calgon
1 tsp. Casoline Oil
2 tsp Burgandy
3 tsp Vermillion

2 cups water for dye mix.
In oven at 250º for 30 minutes,
Checked,
Back in oven for 15 minutes