Christmas Stockings

Penny's stocking:
























Eric's stocking:

This is a test of the emergency blogging system.

Christmas visit to Arlington National Cemetery

Christmas was cool and beautiful -- the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and there was only a light breeze.

I visited Uncle Billy Rees's site first:


And Uncle Jack Rees:


They are right by the wall and the chapel, and a guard gate with some chilly, bored guards.


Dad and I will head back after Christmas, and leave some evergreens.

I got lost driving around the cemetery, and finally located Diane's father, Thomas Moore, in the Memorial section. It's on the side of a hill, which Chris told me, but I started looking on the downhill side first, and worked my way up.

There are mature trees, and nuts on the ground, and tribes of fat, happy squirrels.

Uncle Dick Rich is in a flat part of the cemetery (instead of mostly vertical). The site looks over the Pentagon, the Capitol, and the Washington Monument:

That's some pretty expensive real estate!

Sock Wars !!

Picked a nice warm golden yarn from Persimmon Tree Farm, and hit gauge right off.

Cast on the first sock Saturday morning, knitted through a tour of Antietam National Park (battlefield and cemetary) -- had to look and sound intelligent while keeping my fingers in motion.

Got this far by Saturday night:












Got this far by Monday evening:









Socks will be lovely and warm, but not machine-washable.

Spinning Wheels

In preparation for my talk at the Pioneer America Society conference, I have been photographing every spinning wheel I can find.

First my Hitchhiker:



Next, Nina's Charka:









And whatever wheels were hanging around the store:









I will be talking about innovations in hand spinning wheel technology.

My abstract is:

Being a brief overview of the glorious history of spinning tools and techniques, with a special consideration of the Venus of Lespugue, Leonardo Da Vinci, Revolutionary Acts of Spinning, Hippies, Bicentennial Celebrations, and Hen-Pecked Husbands.

Photo of Gerald Ford from 1976

On May 12, 1976, we got to skip school to go to a political rally in the main square in Birmingham, Michigan. President Ford was campaigning for re-election.

I managed to get in the front of the crowd and shake his hand, and I also got a blurry picture of Ford riding in his motorcade, and a good one of him meeting the crowd.

Google is wonderful; I found a copy of his remarks that day:
remarks

Arlington National Cemetary

I drove out to Arlington National Cemetary this morning, to leave some evergreen wreaths for 3 uncles -- Uncle Dick (Richard Rich), Uncle Jack (John Frank Rees), and Uncle Billy (William Lehigh Rees). It was cold but clear, and the ground was still hard from last night's frost.

Uncle Billy

Uncle Jack

Uncle Dick