The End and the Beginning

A lot happened last night and today. Well, kind of. It was mostly relaxing but I have a lot of pictures to show and so here we go. There was a rousing game of Checkers between Maggie and Dana. Maggie is pretty good at it and gave Dana a run for her money. I can\’t remember who actually won. Maggie won against her dad tonight.
We ate these huge shrimp – or prawns. Whatever. They were delicious. Grilled by Jerome. Husband of Dana.

Also this great pasta with plenty of garlic and cheese and shrimp and olive oil. Also a Jerome creation.
Then there was the washing up. Or scrubba dubbing as Ryan calls it.

The midnight pizza. Jerome again. Home made crust, feta cheese? or something else delicious. Also included were tomatoes, fresh basil and shrimp.
Midnight Hot Chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. This is the new hot chocolate I got from Kelle for Christmas but I can\’t remember what kind it was since we used it all up. I need to ask her because I have to get some more. I don\’t usually share my hot chocolate very easily but it was new year\’s eve.

See, I even let Maggie have some. She did stay up until midnight because Dana had some poppers and Maggie was very curious about them.
And here is the proof that I accomplished my goal. This is my car clock on the way home.

I got to sleep until 9AM. Then my accountant called. Trying to finish up the last stuff of 2006. He gave me some assignments which I was dreading but it only took me about an hour. So then I tried out some crock pot dyeing.

I used superwash merino. First it soaked in water and vinegar for about a half hour. Then, after I squeezed out all the excess water, I started to layer it in the pot. I took Easter egg dye tablets and crushed them and sprinkled the powder over portions of the wool.

After all of the layers were sprinkled I filled the pot with more water and vinegar. For 4 ounces of wool I used 7 dye tablets. I turned the pot on low and let it work for 3 hours. The internet instructions I had said to let the pot sit for 3 hours until it was at room temperature. I was too impatient for that so I submerged the crock pot liner in cold water and let it sit for about 20 minute. After that the sink water was still a little cold so I dumped the contents of the crack pot right into it.

I drained the water and did a little squeezing and then hung the wool on a hanger to dry. I\’m not sure I love it but it was my first attempt. After it\’s dry I\’ll spin it and see if I like it any better.

Today i sat down and made a few lists for goals for the coming year. I\’ll be saving that for tomorrow or Wednesday. It could get a little long and I\’m very tired. After all, I did stay up about 5 hours past my bedtime last night.