Sweat, rain and money


 Yesterday I made a purchase so large it frightened me.

A handy thing about not wearing deodorant is that you can tell when you are anxious because of a sudden adrenaline dumping of smelly sweat, even when you don’t register the anxiety emotionally (Apologies to squeamish readers).  This happened when, having made the decision to buy a newspinning wheel (instead of the second-hand ebay purchse I’d thought of) and checked out with the Badger that this was not an undetected Foolish Whim, I parted with £367.00 (yes!!) in payment for the wheel, a Lazy Kate and three spare bobbins, plus p&p from Wales. 

Even so I am very excited about it!

My life is very spacious and (fairly) solitary now.  While I am hatching book ideas, I need time when I am just thinking, but I like to have something meaningless to keep my hands and chatter-brain occupied while my Real Mind is thinking.  I often wander aimlessly on Facebook at such times, but that is a bit too social and sometimes can be disturbing or upsetting (depending who’s posted what); and it is certainly not very productive.

I used to spin, but haven’t had a wheel for some years now, as we all had enough woolies and there seemed no point.  But Alice is possibly going to include a textile stream into her new life as a fulltime crafter, and I have thought of something I could make to sell in our Hastings crafters’ shop that should be there and isn’t, that I might make myself.

I am so looking forward to spinning again!

The wheel I am having is a traveller, which makes it easy to spin up in the Garret, or downstairs at the fireside with the family, or take it with me when visiting with my dear mama; it’s the Kromski Sonata from this beautiful  site.  The wise and noble sheep who appears on some pages is called Bobby (Bobby-Dazzler - scroll down if you clicked on the link, to see the complete photo rather than the cropped version at the top of the page), and the webmaster and business owner keeps sheep she knows and loves, selling their fleece to spin after the summer shearing.

This feels like such a happiness thing, even though parting with all that money terrified me a bit!!

One thing in, two things out.  I am having a wheel, a set of carders, and a Lazy Kate fitted with bobbins (bottom pic of 4).  Though the carders are two and the Lazy Kate and bobbins a composite item, I reckoned the things (in the two photos below) sent away in exchange would balance things up.





These things are going to help an 18-year-old vulnerable adult set up home in his own apartment for the first time.  At present, he has only a sleeping bag.  We are sending the console table and the bits on it, the chest of drawers - and our Rosie has sorted out some mugs and pillows for him from what she has at home, that hadn't made it round here at the time I took the photos.

I have also ordered two buckets for bokashi composting of waste, and in exchange am parting with these books.



It’s been an expensive week, because I bought another water-butt as well.  I put a hat and some coat-hangers out to go, in exchange.  Our rainwater storage is now up to 700 litres.  I hope to add another butt or two, bringing it up to 900 or 1100 litres when funds permit.  The heavy rain we have had this last couple of weeks has filled the butts we have nicely   :0)

I wash in rainwater, rinse my clothes in rainwater, rinse pots and pans in rainwater and cook in rainwater.  I don’t drink it just as it is – only boiled – because it drains from the roof, a favourite perch for all kinds of birds, some of whom carry a multitude of pathogens.    As the water that comes from the tap has to be industrially processed and paid for, it makes sense to store the rainwater.  It will all go in the twinkling of an eye in the dry days of summer when the vegetables are going full belt, but for now anyway it’s a saving of money and a kindness to Mother Earth.

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 365 366 Day 116 – Wednesday April 25th   



Buddha-bags are great!  I have 3.  An old, faded, much-loved brown one beginning to disintegrate: a just-as-old, soft-grey-purple one Hebe gave me because hers hadn’t seen so much action and is more intact; and a black one I keep for funerals.  I got this one for attending a wedding, to be less shabby and not black.  I guess I could have kept it – they do come in handy – but felt it to be not really necessary.