When I start complaining about the rain and cold later this week, I need someone to remind me how gorgeous the weekends have been.  Today is another clear blue sky day with a nip in the air.  The leaves are just starting to change and their orange/red color tints the air around them.  In short, it's glorious.

You know my spinning wheel is an old one.  I don't know how old, but probably older than me.  She was well used and is now well used and well loved.  I love to take her places and show her off.  The hard part is that while she seems game for all this travel, she is not as young and spry as she once was. (who among us is?)  Her voyage from New Zealand was made while she was in pieces and we put her together.  Pk glued her legs into place to make her sturdier but that means they don't come off.  All the other parts come off but then when I put them back together, there's a little bit of banging (with a rubber mallet) and twisting to get them back into proper order. 

Our last trip into Philadelphia, which was a rip roaring success, resulted in an injury to Saraspunda.  This is one of the arms that hold the wheel in place.  You can see that a piece wood has been put in there that doesn't belong.  The little stick that usually resides there broke.  Being a resourceful woman, I took a sized 6mm dpn and broke it in half and used that for the day.  It was functional but not beautiful.

Pk decided to make me a better fix and he came up with this yesterday.  He's not thrilled with it but it works.  He took a dowel and put a little cap on one end and a cotter pin on the other and voila!, a better fix.

He is drawing up plans for the first of two wheels for me (yes, I am a greedhead).  The first one will be a travel styled wheel so I can take it more easily and can spare Saraspunda unnecessary trauma.  The second will be a traditionally styled wheel, similar to the Ashford Traditional.  He likes their clean, graceful lines. 

Her disability didn't prevent us from spinning yesterday.  I took the two hunks of roving I bought last weekend and made small balls out of them.   Both hunks had some colors in common but also had some colors that were unique.  I wanted to use them together and didn't want abrupt color changes.  This way, I'll just use random little bits and have a colorful but coordinated yarn. The singles are spinning into a pretty progression of fuzzy color.  I only just started plying it and so far, I like the colors.

Kate just called and asked which road to turn down to get to the bakery.  She wants donuts.  GREAT.  Now I want donuts.  I asked her if she could get some for us and she agreed.  I gave her directions and money and soon, very  soon, we will have donuts.   No willpower in this household. 

Pk and I are still feeling vaguely unsettled.  While I will be the first person to say that antibiotics are wonderous, miraculous things, they are not kind to my body.  We are having intestinal distress on and off and while antibiotics make the bacteria/infection go away, they don't make the symptoms (congestion, coughing, sore throat) go away.  There are over the counter meds for that but I am tired of taking medicine.  This bug has lingered for more than a week and only now seems to be loosening its grip.  I finished my antibiotics last night so in a few days, I figure I'll be back to normal (or what passes for normal for me). 

We'll be having Hallowe'en dinner next weekend with my brother.  It's our first one without my Aunt Joan and I've been missing her quite a bit lately.  She loved Hallowe'en and all its trappings.  My brother and his wife will trick or treat with the kids and then we'll meet at their house for dinner.  Then we have the candy swap.  Pk and I are on the prowl for 'good' candy to swap.  He swaps for both of us and really enjoys the dickering back and forth.  We're even toying with the idea of costumes.  It's been a while but I am the proud owner of two pairs of wings that we could use.  I'm not sure Pk would want to be a fairy.  Just a hunch on my part. (Kate wore his navy uniform a few years ago with a pair of wings and a sign  that said "don't ask, don't tell".  She was very popular). 

Do you celebrate Hallowe'en?  Do adults dress up where you are?  Do kids trick or treat?  They don't come around at night anymore, just in the daylight and there is always a parent waiting at the bottom of the driveway.  I remember fondly being out in the dark and scaring ourselves when I was a kid.  Now, parents would be horrified.  I'm not sure it's really that much less safe or if our perceptions are that it's not safe.  My kids went out after dark with supervision (from my Aunt Joan and Aunt Elsie).  They had a blast.  And that brings me back to Aunt Joan.  She loved seeing the kids and giving out candy.  Mostly she loved kids and celebrating.  So, we'll celebrate in her honor and in her memory.

I miss you Aunt Joan.