Things Are Looking Up

The last few days I haven't felt so isolated.  Friday a friend brought her mom and her visiting "fiber" sister, from NM, Sunday was Ruckus Day, Monday another friend brought her grandchildren over to visit the farm and play with fiber, and today they came for an hour to put finishing touches on their projects.

  The "fiber" sister taught me something I have been trying to learn for years.  I hope I haven't forgotten.  They took me down to the barnyard but the sheep still did not come up to me.  Then Sunday, was the rukusy Ruckus Day so far.

I have been having Ruckus Days almost every month for over a year.  Ruckus Days, are days fiber enthusiasts come out to the farm and play with fiber and tools and equipment and try something new, or just come and sit and spin or knit or chat.  Previously, Ruckus Days have been attended by a handful or two of different combinations of fiber enthusiasts, but Sunday there were over 25 people.

A few, were kids signed up for the Fiber Camp sessions, that had to be canceled,  a few were Fiber Campers from the first week, a couple were weavers who had not been out for quite some time and had not seen the fiber shed completed.  Others, I have not seen since I don't know when. For some, it was  their first Ruckus Day.

Some visitors came for a short time but most were here for the full 2 hour (abbreviated) event.  Being in a wheelchair with my leg elevated and extended, I was a little over whelmed for about two minutes.  Then everything fell into place.  A couple of my regulars were teaching needle felting to newbees.  Also at the same time, we had drum carding and blending, drop spinning and wheel spinning, and discussions about dyeing.  I am pretty sure not all 25 + were in the shed at the same time but I know there were at least 15 at one point.   It was truly amazing.

Yesterday and today was a workshop in felting a bag.  After we finished, we went down to feed the sheep and I got to feed and touch my bravest sheep for the first time in two weeks!!  Things are definitely looking up.

100 years ago, tomorrow, my mother was born.  I am celebrating the day by going to get the stitches out of my ankle and leg.  Then, I will probably have a cast put on.  A whole new stage to explore.  I am not looking forward to wearing a cast for 6 weeks, but at least I am hoping it makes me less concerned about injuring the ankle further.   I am going to ask if I can crawl all over.  I don't think that should be a problem, and it will give me more flexibility.  When my mom was in her 80's she fell head first down a few stairs to land on the cement floor of their garage.  She didn't break anything.  All I did was, slip on some pine needles and land on a padded part of my body and I broke my ankle in 3 places.  Strange how things happen.

I guess when it is all about learning something from an experience, it doesn't matter how you got to the place of learning.  Maybe my mom just didn't have any important lessons she needed to learn at that time.  I am learning some important things.  I will elaborate later.