It's Wine-Thirty!

Change is hard and inevitable

Today I closed down an e-mail list that was close to my heart; SpinningNE.  I had been part of the list for over 6 years, and liked what the original concept was about; people from New England talking about their spinning projects.

Unfortunately, within less than 2 years after the list was born, it had primarily turned into a sales list, which wasn't the intent of the original list owner.  Even way back then, Shelley wanted to close the list but I asked to help moderate to keep it open.  And two years ago, when Shelley wanted to leave the list to pursue other things, she suggested closing down the list because she was sad to see what it had turned in to.  Again, I asked to have the list turned over to me because I thought that the list had some life left in it.  I was wrong.

Then yesterday, I had an unpleasant exchange with a member.  That was the straw that broke the camels back so to speak. 

If you haven't ever run a list, it is time consuming.  Really time consuming.  Some days I spend more time moderating lists, soothing tempers and mediating complaints between members than I spend time doing my own online stuff.   And most of the time I enjoy it.  I've met some really wonderful people due to these lists, especially when they were at the height of their popularity, but blogs have changed a lot about the Internet community; I think for the better.  When someone posts to an e-mail list, some of the responses aren't always nice.  There seems to be the idea that because a person isn't "out there" for people to see, that one can say what ever they choose no matter how insulting it may be.  I always thought that if you wouldn't say something to a person's face, then why say it to an entire e-mail list with hundreds (or thousands) of members?  Blogs seem to have changed that because most people won't read a blog if it differs from their ideas.  I've seen very few negative comments on blogs, which is one reason I like them so much.  Fiber blogs encourage positive discussions and friendships.

I've already had a complaint over the list closing, but I did direct members over to the NETA list which has 4 times the members, and isn't over run with ads (probably because they don't allow ads to be posted on the list).   NETA also has a lovely spinning community on it AND it puts together the SPA weekend in Maine every February.

So today is a step in a new direction and one I'm happy to take.  I'll still be moderating Spin-Sales and the Spin-List, but those are much larger lists which seem to have stood the test of time.

Now on to other things:

Dale and I built this today and I have a blister on my palm from pounding in 12" spikes nails.   :-)   Calvin wants a garden, and since we just gave up a 40' x 60' garden last year, we didn't want to get too crazy.  This one is 4' x 8' and 8 inches high.  I'm going to order some good Hadley topsoil to be trucked in.  I figure that we can get a couple of tomato plants in there and a watermelon plant in the far corner.  That is enough to keep Calvin busy and not overwhelm him (or us) with weeding.

And because I know how much people love cute kitty pictures:

Glowing eyed Smitty trying to take a snooze and rather annoyed that I woke her up.

Poor Smoosh trying to stay cool with all that long fur.

Trina; ever vigilant for other cats prowling the yard.

Great Wheel for Sale

Remember that beautiful great wheel I purchased in September?  Well, I've decided to sell her. 

With DH still unemployed, I need the money more than the wheel, especially since I have another great wheel upstairs.

You can see a picture of her here , or contact me, and I can take more pictures.

I can probably get her down to Rhinebeck (possibly, but I'm not planning to be there myself), or will meet someone within a reasonable distance.

I'm asking $325 for her.

Isn't she pretty?

I sure think she is! (so does Milo).

Meet my newest wheel.  I picked her up at a tag sale in Hadley on Saturday.  DH and I were on our way to a pig roast at a friends house in one of the hilltowns, when we passed this beauty by.  I almost locked up the brakes on the Sportage trying to stop!   ;-)   She's in near perfect condition.  I just need to replaces one of the braided corn husk straps on the minors head and she'll be ready to spin.  The minor's head even has the original tag on it!  I think I should call her Emily.

Other than my newest wheel purchase, things here continue like they have for 2006.  DH lost his job on Friday, after it was announced that the company was closing.  Let's just say that they weren't as stable as presented when he was asked to go work there back in June.  So the job hunt continues.  Yes, it is stressful, but we'll get through this too.  I'll be glad when 2006 is over!

And are you tired of having to wait for prompts when you call a company, and get endless voice mail options?  Check out the  Gethuman database  .    You'll also want to try their survey which other companies are going to use to make them more user friendly.  I think this site is great and wanted to pass it along to everyone else.

An early Mother's Day present

Thank you everyone for your kind words this past week.  My MIL's memorial service was yesterday, and things are starting to return to normal, which is good.  Sometimes normalcy is needed in times like these.  Once again, I'll respond to everyones e-mails later this week.  This is the first time I've spent more than 2 minutes online since Tuesday, and my e-mail has piled up.

In order to keep my husband occupied today, I suggested that we take a drive.  Having no destination in mind, I decided that we would go east in our travels.  That took us to central MA, through many small towns, some so small they are barely considered towns.  In one such place, while turning a corner, out of the corner of my eye I spied a spinning wheel on a porch.  As it turned out, this was a very small antique store.  So we turned around, stopped and went up on the porch.  After a brief discussion with the owner, my husband purchased this for me for Mother's Day:

A real deal at $60, which is what he paid for her (we didn't even have to talk them down on the price!).  She is varnished, but I can clean that up easily enough.  All she needs is a drive band, and a little oil and she'll be ready to spin.  Her wheel spins true and all parts are there and working.    I really couldn't believe my ears when we were quoted that price and I didn't have to think twice on if I would take her home.  She's a beauty, and now I just have to find a place for her in the house.    :)

I'll leave you with this sky scene, that I took on Thursday on the way back from a job in Wendell.  This was taken from a scenic stop on Route 202 in Pelham, MA, overlooking the Quabbin Reservoir (Boston's main source of water).