Autumn is here!

Yay, w00t and amen!! The last week or so it’s been in the 90s around here, although the leaves were starting to fall in places. But today the wind started blowing and when I came home there were drifts of pine needles in the driveway. The weather site says a series of fronts is moving (are moving?) into the area and the clouds are definitely here. I was thinking how much more fun it was before I started paying attention to things like warm and cold fronts and the weather changes were just these strange, inexplicable events that no one could predict. Maybe they were caused by magic, somewhere some power deciding to bring the snow and close the passes. Not that they always can predict the weather nowadays (almost every major storm we’ve had for the last five years has come as a complete surprise), but somehow seeing the possibilities mapped out cheapens it.

Tonight before church I drove up into the foothills and watched out across the valley. The incoming front is pushing the smoke into streaks and the western sky was brilliantly red and pink, and I could see the line between cloud and smoke clearly. I want to drive up to Mt. Ashland, but I keep running out of time, and this was a good stand-in. Somehow it grounds me to stand high on the mountains and looks out across my world, the mountains and valleys I’ve known all my life. The mark of humanity seems so small and two-dimensional, squashed along the valley floors and blinking into tiny existence along the hills. And the silence is intense. We become so accustomed to the freeway, the street, the houses around us, people, that when we’re away from it…. it’s almost oppressive. I think I need to go to the mountains more simply to overcome that. Deep silence like that brings to the fore exactly how not-silent my thoughts are and it also makes it easier to focus on one though at a time, rather than all of them rushing at me simultaneously.

One danger of autumn and visiting the mountains is my urge to travel. Not necessarily to far off lands, but I see these silhouettes in the distance and I want to see them, drive the logging roads that stretch around them, and worst, get on the highway and head east, to heaven only knows where. When I was younger I used to be afraid that someday I would give in, but the urge isn’t as strong as it used to be, and honestly that makes me sad! Where is my passion?! I’ve been thinking about this lately, because I didn’t used to be this colorless, drab person I feel like I’ve become. I’m still in here somewhere, I know I am, it’s just a matter of finding me.

On a final note, I must admit that one reason I’m thrilled that autumn is here is because I get to start knitting heavier knits! Yay yay! I mean, I love my socks and stuff, but I’m really looking forward to getting some serious work done on an alpaca scarf I just started. And my EZLN Fingerless Gloves just rock. For the knitters among my audience, I’m Minnow on Ravelry, but I don’t have any real pictures up. I need to do that. And I’ll try!

But I want to GO!!!

*heavy, heavy sigh*

I’ve been planning for months, months, people, to go to the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene.  It is wonderful, with fabulous people, wonderful products, the best bookstore in the same city and a great drive.  I love Black Sheep.  Really, so much cool stuff it’s not even funny, with a cool city to explore and everything.  And I have been planning on going for probably the last six months.  Up until about 9pm this evening, as a matter of fact, when my dad and I calculated how much it would cost me to go, not counting fiber purchases.

$60-70.

In gas alone.

Which isn’t much until you realize that the next weekend I’m driving to Portland for a week, coming down for three days, and promptly heading back up for the last weekend of my church Campmeeting, during which time I will not be working and not earning money to pay bills.  And I only have about $600 to cover the gas for those trips (at least $160), my food costs (heaven only knows), bills for the latter half of the month (around $75 to $150, but did I mention Port Angeles, WA, at the end of July?), not to mention any incidentals (Portland has some sweet yarn stores.  And great restaurants.  And bakeries.  And other stores.  Like Powell’s.).

So, as much as I desperately want to go, I am going to probably have to face up to the fact that…. I can’t afford it.  It’s my own fault for mismanaging my finances (therapy is expensive!  Who knew?!) and indulging my need for easy gratification (and this without growing up with television) and expensive food.

But, as my dad said, think how much more yarn I can buy with that money in Portland.

But there won’t be Ravelers in Portland.  I mean, not in such concentrated doses.  But I can buy more yarn.  Stupid oil.  Stupid war.  Stupid people, for crying out loud.  As I have said before, why can’t we all just get along????  And yes, I do know the answer to that, it was rhetorical.

Mountain Man Knitting

World Wide Knit In Public Day was on Saturday an I am here to report my contribution! I went up to the Little Butte Mountain Man Rendezvous in the lovely woods of southern Oregon to hang out with my dad for pre-Father’s Day, and of course, I took my knitting along! After all, what quasi-historical re-enactment would be complete with knitting? I’ll hopefully get some pictures, but at this point you’re going to have to take my word for it.

I joined my dad, uncle and two cousins, older cousin, friend of my uncle, and a friend of my dad for the day and got to shoot a muzzleloader for the first time… and it was so much fun!!! According to the men I work with, my coolness factor has gone up substantially since they found out I can shoot. I sucked severely at the trail shoot (since holding up a muzzleloader is a lot harder than holding up a modern rifle) but redeemed myself on the fort shoot, where I had something to rest the barrel of the rifle on and my hand didn’t start shaking after a few seconds. I’ve always maintained that the ability to shoot is genetic, and events like this usually serve to confirm that, when my family takes awards in every category they enter! I need to get Dad to let me start practicing so I can take the ladies category….

I met a lovely lady up there with a spinning wheel and we had a good long shop talk and she’s going to send me a link to a roving merchant… or a merchant who sells roving. Yeah. Anyway, I’m thinking that it might be fun once I’m a little more proficient with the ol’ wheel to take it along and get some spinning done. That way, if we ever graduate to primitive camp (no anachronism allowed) I can knit with appropriate yarn!