TreasureGoddess: No spinning, but SNAKES at the LAKE

Yes, that thing really was almost 5 feet long. CRIPES ALMIGHTY. You know, I really did marry a true outdoorsman. My hero. My husband. This took him from HWIOADA (He Who Is Occasionally A Dumb Ass) to LAKEMAN! HERO OF THE OZARKS! *shiver* Seriously, I still get chills just seeing it in picture form. LAKEMAN snatched this thing out of a tree as we were walking along and it was hanging above my head. I know it's a black snake and not poisonous, but DUDE, this thing was HANGING OUT over me. It was not very happy to be snatched from its tree and proceeded to hiss and shake its tail so hard it sounded like a rattler. It was all the time flipping about in the air, trying to bite Jeff or his son or ME or whomever it could get to. SO, because we all know LAKEMAN does things his own way, after dodging its big mouth snapping at us, he flipped it in the air, grabbed it by the tail and began whoop-whoop-whoop-ing it around in the air like a cowboy swings its lariat. All the while the snake is STILL snapping its jaws as it circles by. LAKEMAN lets it fly, it starts drunkenly trying to snake its way into the water, then SWIMS BACK to shore and up the hill back to us. Well, we ended up having to kill it since we have a ton of kids running about and didn't want more snake babies in the hill where our kids go running amok.

The only thing I can say is thank God that LAKEMAN is now over his whole "If I kill it, I have to eat it" nature kick. Does anyone remember the squirrel from the back yard? The one he grilled on a stick? It was all burnt up standing like a giant X with his arms and legs out. ICK. Yeah. I told him it could, in fact, have maybe been poisonous (black snakes are NOT) and without knowing, we really shouldn't be EATING it. *shiver* UGH. You know, looking back, wouldn't a normal man just knock it in the head with a shovel? Or shoot it? We had cowboy Jeff going at it. Ah well. The man does like to get in touch with his nature.

OK, so this last long weekend at the lake (took another 2 days' vacation WOO HOO) I decided was going to be all about the spinning. Spinning, spinning, spinning. I took TWO POUNDS of fiber. (For non-spinners, that's a crapload). I knew I wouldn't spin it all, but was going to get it all pre-drafted and spin as much as I could. I actually took my knitting projects OUT OF MY BAGS and LEFT THEM HOME because I knew all I would do was spin. I had two almost-done socks packed. One for the trip down and one for the trip back. That was all. As we were picking up Jeff's boy from his summer camp and all his crap, plus bringing his dad back from his vacation at the lake and all of HIS crap, my one box of extra fiber & niddy noddy & scissors, etc. had to get left behind. No problem, right? I still had the TONS OF FIBER and the Wheel. I was set. Yeah. I was set until I sat my ass down at my favorite outdoor spot (and after LAKEMAN got rid of the snake hanging above my favorite spinning spot). Sat down. Prepped my fiber. Got the leader all wound through the hooks and orifice. Started treadling.......NOTHING WAS HAPPENING. Guess what I left back in that damn box? My drive band. (the thing that makes the wheel go round). DAMN DAMN DAMN.

I'm never, ever, EVER traveling with no knitting projects again. Enter a Very Good Friend/SUPERHERO who with a quick phone call soon had me driving up and down and all around the Ozark hills to a YARN SHOP! A really cute YARN SHOP! The Yarn Basket soon had me driving back home with some new sockyarn to make it through the rest of the weekend. If you're down in the Ozark hills, get yourself there. They had a ton of really good yarn crammed into a little shop at Osage Beach, MO.

I did get home and finish an item that WAS NOT a SOCK! OK, don't get all excited now, as it's a merino sleeveless sweater. It's orange. A stretch for me, I know! I think I'll call it a vest, but we all know I'm wearing it all winter long as is. It's the Essential Tank by Wendy Barnard (of Knit N Tonic blog) in her book Custom Knits, which I dearly love. Hers is made of cotton, but where's the logic in that? :) I actually sewed down a hem in this one and am quite proud of that too! Another first for the Knitting Virgin!