Dog tired

We got home from our Estes Park Wool Market adventure at 2 AM, early Monday morning. It was amazing--yak, cashmere goats, paco-vicunas, and the largest llamas and sheep I have ever seen. Plus the bonus elk sighting as we drove by Estes Lake on our way into town. It was my first trip to Colorado, and I am awed by it all. So much to report. That will have to wait though, because I haven't gotten the old fashioned film developed yet. Also, I'm leaving again on Thursday for Black Sheep Gathering in Oregon.

This sort of thing (the laundry) awaits me, and is about all I am up for today:

I snapped a photo of some of my stuff, unpacked, for a brief rundown on festival details.

My straw hat ($5 mail order) served me well in the bright hot sun of 8.000 feet elevation, although it is NOT crushable and appears to be worse for wear. It may not make it through the festival season at this rate, though it's done 4 so far. Even so, I got a little sunburnt and a few more freckles. Normal, for those of you who know me in person!


I put the "dog tired"pj shirt in for emphasis, it is part of the clean laundry that has yet to be put away! I bought a tart tin for Tia, who modelled so graciously for us...she borrows mine because our town lacks a good kitchen store. Estes Park had a good kitchen store! In the middle of the picture, you see yarn. It is amazing Cormo worsted spun light sportweight (sock) yarn from Elsa Sheep and Wool Company. More than one person told me to check out this stuff, and they were right.

Cormo is elastic, soft, bury your face in it delicious stuff, and Elsa has created a genius level line of yarns. She has it spun both woollen and worsted. (Woollen=warm, lofty, light weight, prone to pilling... Worsted=sturdy, hardwearing, drapey, dense, and less warm) She also has it spun in everything from lace weight to worsted weight yarn. I wanted it all. I settled for two skeins. I see socks in my future. Lots of socks.

My other purchases? A glow in the dark t-shirt of Rocky Mountain animal footprints for my nephew. Every toddler wants his parents to see him in the dark and learn wildlife biology at the same time, right? If not, too bad. Auntie Joanne couldn't help herself!

On the way down the mountain, we stopped in Boulder so I could check out the scene. Wow. An international festival street fair was happening, and I managed to find a great used bookstore with high end knitting books. I settled for a stitch dictionary and several old British mysteries.

Between the mountain views and altitude, I did only about two rows of knitting on this trip. On the airplanes, I read my assigned reading: The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat. I've finished the book, and had this feedback for the professor: Interesting book, very sexist. The women involved in the penicillin research were really not acknowledged in this account. Yes, the author, Eric Lax, quoted from historical sources, which were sexist as usual in the time period. However, Lax did not hesitate to give his point of view in other parts of the narrative. Why not call Dr. Margaret Jennings a professional and give her intellectual credit? Why not treat the other women professionals with respect? Instead, we hear about how many children they had, whether they were good mothers, and very briefly, about their frustrated ambitions as they became technicians and nothing more. A sentence or two that recognized these women's contributions with respect would have made all the difference in this 21st century account.

Just my two cents as a writer, educator and critic. Now, I have to do some laundry...