Hip, Hip, Hooray!

To all who came to The HIP Party to help me celebrate my new parts: THANKS SO MUCH: I HAD A GREAT NIGHT!

It really was a good time for me. Gosh, all that good cheer, not to mention all that beer, really wore me out. Funny, I think it was one of my top birthdays ever. Yep, it was my birthday, too. I didn't mention it to folks who didn't know. Didn't want anyone to feel like they should bring gifts. I am really the girl who has everything. Some folks brought me gifts anyway, and I have to admit, those who did, gave me things I really want! Like the bottle of wine from a certain smartie-pants. I always appreciate booze! And the cutie-patootie picture frame to hi-lite the cute-ness of my hounds. That will soon take a place on my 15th floor window ledge in downtown Atlanta. The gorgeous plant from a certain someone is already on said ledge, enyoying the sunshine. But, the best tangible prezzie is the hand-carded batt from Knitten' Mittens for Ma Kittens. I can't wait to pull out the wheel for that!
Not to be mushy, but the best gift of all was seeing all those folks on Saturday, helping me celebrate the big day. You guys are fabulous. Thanks!

Water Woes

We are having one of our bathrooms remodeled and the guys couldn't shut off the water last week because the valve at the street was really, really old and stuck. So, the city water guys came out and today they are replacing everything at the street. I'm a little worried about our next water bill.

All is Well at Treats

A lot of folks who live outside Atlanta have called or e-mailed to ask how Treats for Breathing fared after the tornadoes that hit Atlanta this weekend. I am happy to report we escaped damage of any kind here at HQ. My office downtown is in the middle of a lot of the devastation, but the building itself was not hurt. I had to stay home from the office today because the cops have asked folks not to go downtown unless absolutely necessary, and my bosses' boss actually called me yesterday to tell me to stay home. I will go in tomorrow, via MARTA.

Len rode his bicycle to school this morning, and had this to say via e-mail: "Wow, the devastation. Sweet auburn market is closed, the building across the street burned down, the main grady building has fences and antennas and other crap hanging off the side, and one of the old grady buildings has its copper roof partially lifted off. Many traffic lights are out. Sirens and helicopters non stop for the past half hour at least."

Handspun Diary

I spin almost every day now. Crazy.
I card extra fibers when I'm not spinning, and now, because I have SO much handspun yarn, I've put some of it on Etsy.com (handmade goods paradise) for sale. Don't worry, I have no dilussions about my spinning. The idea is not to start a business, but to have my spinning help pay for itself (and make room for more!). I made my first sale this week! Thanks, Nell!
I'm currently knitting a vest out of my own handspun, a blend of natural color alpaca and silk.
I recently learned how to card by hand and by carding machine. I actually like the process of carding by hand better. It's a lot slower, but the fiber comes out so soft and fluffy. In fact, I have two hanks out of the same fiber, different colors, one was hand carded before spinning, the other machine carded. The hand carded yarn is the same guage, but weighs a lot less -- which means the resulting garment will be lighter. I like that -- especially since I live in Georgia.

Still, the Drought Continues

Georgia has been in a serious drought since last summer (see the current aerial view of a part of Lake Lanier taken from the AJC.com website today). We've had substantially less rainfall in the last year than we need, and the big lakes around Atlanta are depleted to a point that's pretty scary to see.

The culprit is more than inadequate rainfall. The Atlanta area is being developed beyond its capacity, with no plans in place to create the increased water and power needs. Also, a good bit of water from Georgia resources is flowing into Alabama and Florida waterways to preserve wildlife habitats in those areas.

First, our state lawmakers tried to sue the Army Corps of Engineers (the group that requires the water diversion) into allowing the state to keep her water. That didn't work, so they are now battling with Tennessee in a silly attempt to reclaim about a mile of land at the border that was apparently mislabeled as Tennessee in the early 1800s. That extra mile of land would give Georgia access to the Tennessee River, and its precious water.

Now, I've listened to Len talk about his law classes enough to know that after all this time has passed without Georgia laying claim to that land, there is very little the state can actually do to get it now. But, they'll still try. An enormous waste of time, I think, but I'm not an elected official.

The cool thing about all this is the effort I see being put forth by the average Georgian to conserve his water. I know people who, when running their shower waiting for the water to get warm, save that cold water into buckets to use on their plants. Others are collecting rainwater from their storm drains to use on their lawns. Folks aren't washing their cars as often. The county I live in is now requiring old, inefficient toilets be replaced at the time of a house sale.

That said, though, we've had a good bit of rain lately. Our trees and flowers are beginning to bloom and the grass is green and at first glance the drought seems to be a distant, unhappy memory.

But it's not. Our lakes are still dangerously low and the water crisis still exists. So, let's keep it up, folks! I'll keep doing what I can and I hope you continue your efforts, too!