A Good Day.

I'm pretty sure yesterday is going to go down in my mental record book as a milestone. I landmark memory that I'll keep forever. One of those days I'll look back at when my hair is snowy white, hands crimped with arthritis, back huntched from a lifetime of toil, and gather my grandkids around me to tell them "a story".

The story of the very first day I spun my very first yarn.

It's not perfect, uniform or particularly long. I'm not even sure I'd get a hat for me out of it. But it's mine and that makes it good.

I set off early yesterday morning leaving hubby and the kids behind. I knew I'd be gone most of the day and that alone lifted me up a bit. A day just for me. The weather didn't want to cooperate though and the deluge that poured down made for slow moving towards my destination. I stopped at the Feed Store and picked up a 30x36 cage for two new baby does I was planning on getting from A Fuzzy Farm, where I was also getting my lesson. They had to order the cage for me but after Conner's more-expensive-worse-made cage fiasco that I'm still dealing with, I wanted to get a Pet Lodge cage again. Duncan has one and we got Conner a new cage of the same brand. Stick with what works, that's the lesson I learned there.

The back of the van had a large cat carrier all set up to bring the girls home. With their new cage stowed on the seats, I was ready to welcome more rabbits to the farm. I'm still skittish but I'm not letting it stop me from persuing my dream.

About five miles out the sky miraculous cleared up. The bright blue smiling down on me as if there never had been a storm cloud around, as if telling me it would hold up while I had my day. I wound my way down scenic back streets to Lorie's house giddy as a school girl with a new crush. I just couldn't keep the grin off my face.

Lorie's house is a fiber arts wonderland. Spinning wheels, drop spindles, bags and bags of fiber. She even has a gorgeous loom. I was a kid in a candy store, my eyes couldn't focus for a minute, as they glided over all the treats. She was a wonderful host and we chatted while she instructed me on the treadles. I think it helped that on the drive to the land Saturday I read The Whole Craft of Spinning: From the Raw Material to the Finished Yarn from cover to cover. The initial intimidation at a wheel was diluted by my newly aquired knowledge.

We visited her alpaca boys, the chickens and Angoras in the back. I think an Alpaca or five might be on the farm wish-list. She even cooked me a delicious lunch. That in itself was magic. Food I didn't have to shop for, plan out, cook, serve or clean up after. I love feeding others but those special times when others feed me goes down bonus points in my book.

Before I knew it, my yarn had been plied and strung out on the niddy noddy, ready to be washed and set. It's just regular non-descript off-white sheeps wool but to me it might as well be made of gold. So precious it is.

There is just something really special, something just bone-deep right about the entire fiber process. To care for an animal, have that animal share part of itself with you, create a product from that which can either pay the bills or keep you warm. I like that co-dependency. A lot.

The wheel I used came home with me after the many hours of class time learning on it. I loaded the two girls in the back of the van and headed back home. The sky opened back up telling me the day was over, that it wouldn't hold back for me any longer. It was the perfect end to a very, very good day.