The picture at the top of the blog this week is one I took earlier in the week.  We were expecting possibly a little rain, a few sprinkles the weather man said.  Holy cow!  You should have heard it coming down.  We must have gotten at least 3/4" when it was all done.  The plants and trees are so green, they love the rain so much more than just watering with the sprinklers. 

For some reason I've been eating more than I should.  Must be the nice warm weather we've had the last month or so.

The picture on the left is a recipe I got on the internet.  These are apple roses sprinkled with a little bit of powdered sugar.  So easy to make, so good to eat!  If you want the recipe, go to    http://cookingwithmanuela.blogspot.com/2015/03/apple-roses.html

The photo on the right is of my breakfast yesterday.  Unflavored Greek yogurt, black berries or blue berries, and because of the unflavored yogurt I drizzled a spoonful of honey over top.  Delicious!  Add a handful of granola (or cookies) if you are so inclined.

This weekend we did some yard saleing and found some great buys.  This yarn was only $5, and says wool but I believe it to be kid-mohair.  Very soft and strong.  This cone measures about 7" wide by 6" tall.  Lots of yarn here.   I'm planning weaving a shawl made mostly from alpaca yarns in several natural shades of browns, tans and cream colors.  This would make a very interesting contrast in a few places.  Some of the other yarns I'm in the process of hand spinning now so still lots to do.

We also got a large (16"?) deep skillet with a glass top, metal handles on both sides of the skillet to hang on to.  I don't believe they ever used it, or are a lot neater than I am anyway.

Fried chicken anyone?

Met some really nice people at these yard sales.  One lady indicated she'd tried spinning but hadn't been successful, so we sat on her front steps and I showed her how.  Her entire family was interested and came over to observe.  How fun!

Possible rain this week, maybe I will have to get to spinning.

Spring is so awesome!  Not only the outside plants love it, but the inside plants also.  Can't remember what the name of the one on the left is called but it is a hanging plant that will eventually have little white flowers on it.  Very pretty.

The plant on the right is a little coffee plant I've been nurturing for a couple years.  I got it from Fred Meyers and it was a tiny little sprig about 6" tall.  Today it is about 16" and still in the same pot.  It is doing so well I hate to disturb the roots although I do know it should be transplanted soon, possibly this summer.

I have a friend who had one first, for many years.  It is inside in a north facing window and has grown to about six feet tall!  They actually get little coffee beans from it that her husband picks off occasionally and plants them into little starter pots.  They have a regular forest in their kitchen window.  I plan on giving that a try if I live long enough.  But at the rate this one is growing, it may only be a couple more years.

I just had to post this pretty picture of my fairly new bedspread my daughter bought for me.  It is not hand quilted and bought on-line, but I love the colors and the design.  The green is the color of my carpet and the rest of the colors are accent that really brightens up my bedroom.  I love it.

Do you remember when I moved into my new studio a few years back.  It was so neat, so clean and everything was in its place just where I wanted it.  Well, here it is today.  Overcrowded, messy and I can't find a thing.  I don't have room to move around much less do any spinning and weaving is very tight. 

My daughter has given up her shop to me.  I guess the mess was getting to her too.  And as soon as we can clean out the rest of her things I will be moving my looms and spinning wheels over there leaving the original studio portion for dyeing.  This side has the sink which is so important to this part of the process.  The other side has no sink but they are separated by just a door so it will be so good to be able to spread out a bit.

Then I'm taking the two spinning wheels and a loom out of my bedroom over to the new studio.  I already have two or three more wheels here already plus my electric plying wheel, drying racks, baskets full of fiber, and the loom you see plus a bunch more equipment that's just in the way as there's no way to use it currently.  I can't wait to get things organized again.  On top of all this I have my carder, a table and huge bins full of fiber just waiting to be blended and spun up.

I will post pictures as soon as I can.  In the meantime, here's a couple more of the messy old studio side and then a couple of the new space.

This door on the right is the one that goes into the new area.  So much room over there.

It has big windows facing north and west and large french doors that face north.  Perfect natural lighting.