Fiber Retreat

Just returned from a two day fiber event that our guild puts on every year.  I taught a weaving class on Friday and took a class on Sat. morning.  It is lot of hard work that as in most organizations is done by the few. (Then there are the few who stand back and find fault and always see the glass as half empty). But we had great volunteers this year and pride ourselves in helping our vendors get unloaded and all their "stuff" to the right area.  That was on Thurs afternoon.  Then on Saturday at five pm we reversed it and helped them get it out to their trailers or vans.  But by then everyone is tired, the grippers had of course left early, surprise?) We all stayed in good spirits and enjoyed each others company very much.  It is fun to sit with someone new for a meal and learn from them.  Enjoyed one meal with a lady who is sort of an expert on genealogy and so I really got to pick her brain to learn more as it is something I am wanting to get more involved in.  So it was not fiber related and that is the beauty of it all. Our guest speaker was awesome and I was lucky enough to have gotten in his class the next morning.  He is a cyber expert and taught us how to start up a small business and sell on line and have security at the same time.  This was just meant to be for me as I am right now in the transition of closing one business and starting another.  Have really pondered on if I can roll one into the other or do I have to start from scratch.  Looks like I need to start all over and that might be a good thing, as I find that many people don't realize how their little business links right to their home info, SS number and other accounts that all can be hacked by someone really trying.  Anyway I will try to write about that one of these days and will probably end up with a new Blog site that is not linked to my two current blogs.  But don't worry I will let my personal peeps know how to find me. OK I am off to look at Domain addresses and find if the one I want has been taken.  That is step ONE.
Will end with a picture that I think is so dang cute and Fiber related too.

   

Sept. newspaper column

This should catch me up to date on my column.

Sept 2015: 

Read Again Books in Granby continues to have most books on sale for half price. I have a goal to be able to clear enough books out so that I can remove the last big book case unit in the center of store. That will leave shelving around the walls that I will keep select books. Haven't decided yet how that is going to work yet. I have met some really great people through this little store and I am looking forward to expanding my studio for weaving. So stay tuned.

I am still setting up at the Farmers Market in Neosho, but only every other Saturday. They are getting fall type produce coming in so be sure to come check it out. I am also looking forward to setting up for the Neosho Fall Festival at the Museum just off the square along with the other folks demonstrating some of the older homesteading type crafts.

Also coming up soon will be the Fiber Daze event, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 18^th and 19^th in Mount Vernon at the MARC Center. Registration for classes has been going well. Still time to get in there and find a fun class. We will also have at the door registration for classes that still have openings. Go to our web site for more information. www.fiberfolksofswmo.com

I have a couple mystery books to report on this month. I am still in middle of re-reading a series of books by Diane Gabaldon. Book 4 is still my treadmill book, but since I have been a slacker the past couple months it sits there mocking me.

The Keepsake

by

Tess Gerritsen

If you are a fan of the Rizzoli and Isles TV show you would enjoy this book by Gerritsen. She has been writing a series of books with these characters since 2001. A retired physician she has insight into the world of Isles, who is a medical examiner. Gerritsen has written other mystery novels and romance.

In The Keepsake, a “misplaced” mummy in a big museum is found. Isles is called in to observe the X rays and examination of findings, when she sees a modern artifact that indicated this is a recent murder not a centuries-old relic. In steps Rizzoli the homicide detective to help her unravel this mummy murder. Their suspect is a young archaeologist, then he disappears. Modern mummification is part of the plot along with shrunken heads, and more victims. Quite a good read. I will be reading more of her books and now am hooked on watching the reruns of the TV series.

Killer View

by

Ridley Pearson

Many of us choose a book by its cover and this was one for me. Beautiful mountain scene but in dark shades of mystery. Also it said on cover “A gripping page-turner of a novel.” A search and rescue team at Sun Valley respond to a report of a missing skier. In their search one of their team goes missing and is found dead. Then another team member goes missing the next day. The sheriff, Walt Flemming is trying to find the link between the “missing skier” who was never found and the sheriff's team. The story goes back and forth between the mystery killer and his twisted mind and the frantic search for answers by the local officials. It looks like the main suspects are people of great power and wealth who are behind all of this and a possible big government cover up. I recommend this author for a good mystery read.

August newspaper column

OK  I haven't posted my newspaper column for several months, so decided I would just add the last couple months for now, if anyone is interested.  

So here is August:

Wow! What a hot July its been. I have one hill of potatoes planted and I am afraid when I dig them up I will find french fries.

I have been working on the committee getting all the details done for our Fiber Guild annual event in September. Fiber Daze will be Friday and Saturday, Sept. 18^th and 19^th in Mount Vernon at the MARC Center. This has turned out to be a great place to give us room for all the classes that are offered and for the many vendors who set up with all their goodies for you to buy. The event is free of charge to come in and browse. The classes are on line at www.fiberfolksofswmo.com Just click on Fiber Daze then follow to classes. If you are interested in any of them, better not wait because they tend to fill up fast during August. Any questions feel free to call me or come by the store.

As I mentioned last month, I have decided to close out my book store adventure by the end of the year. Not sure why business has been so slow the last 6 months or more, economy, E books, or the fact I have to close from time to time for family illness. What ever the reason I need to be available to my family more and will keep my building as a private weaving studio. Weaving rugs is a very messy business and it will be good to keep it out of the house. I will continue to teach private classes and sell my rugs through local markets. I am looking into learning more about E-commerce and see where that might take me. So this is a good time to come stock up on books.

I love to read books that have been made into movies and not because I often see the movie, but because I feel that it was apparently a very good book for someone to make a movie. Of course I feel the book is always better. I read two books by Lisa Genova and found them to be truly good reads.

Still Alice

by

Lisa Genova

Lisa Genova knows what she is talking about when she wrote this book on Alzheimer's Disease since she is a Harvard trained Neuroscientist and she writes a column for the National Alzheimer's Association. The main character is Alice who has a career as an esteemed psychology professor at Harvard. She attributes her early symptoms of losing things and forgetting things to her stressful life style till she goes out for her morning run and gets lost on streets she has been on many times. She is totally shocked when a medical evaluation gives her the diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer's. The book follows what it is like for her to manage day by day with this disease knowing that it will only get worse. She even develops a daily ritual of identifying her family, where she lives and work and when she gets to the point of not remembering any of them she has a plan to end her life. When the time comes she gets so side track that it never happens. Her family are dealing with this too and when she has to quit her job the family pull together to give her a safe place to enjoy the simple things as long as she can. A really wonderful book and recommended to anyone dealing with this disease.

LEFT Neglected

by

Lisa Genova

After reading Still Alice, I was eager to read another of Genova's books. This one is about a very interesting medical condition that I had never heard of during my years of nursing. There truly is a condition called Left neglect. Sarah is a very busy business woman and in an instant her life totally changes as she looks away while distracted with her cell phone and is in a car accident that causes a brain injury. She is now unaware of the whole left side of her body. It is like she doesn't even see that side of herself at all or anything surrounding her on that side. So early on she had great difficulty dressing as it was like that side didn't exist. She had no control over her left arm and leg either. It is similar to a stroke other than not even being able to see anything on that side of body. Like a plate of food is only seen and eaten from on the one side. Sarah must relearn how to do everything and with treatment is able to “find” things that are not in her awareness on that side. She is even able to find humor in her inability to use a public bathroom by herself. Her family come into the picture with a mixture of forgiveness, acceptance and adaptability. Her husband's new role as a caretaker adds to her fear and frustration about her recovery. Overall a very good book about a condition most of us are unaware exists. Makes me wonder what this author will find to write about next.

Snapped

by

Laura Griffin

This is a new author for me. I found her mystery very well written as it kept me intrigued till the end. Sophie walks into a nightmare on a college campus when a sniper starts shooting people. She escapes but 3 people plus the sniper die. Sophie becomes involved with the detective in charge as he works the case. She works for a huge crime lab. There are so many twists and turns and romantic interests in this story as they sort out who the real target of the shooting is and why. She has her theory and if she is right can the law protect her??