Home again, home again

I returned home yesterday from the Academy after a really LONG four days to find my husband sick with a very bad cold and laryngitis.

My youngest son was in fairly good spirits but his general teenage angst came out tonight when he requested to get on the computer and was told that he could not get on again until his report card came out and if he had any grade less than a C, would not be allowed on the computer at all for the next term and would also not be allowed to use the phone.

All this delivered in the loudest voice that the currently voiceless stepfather could muster. You can imagine the temper tantrum that ensued. Pleasantly, it did not last long and youngest son actually sat down with us for a moment at the dinner table and inhaled his meal before he disappeared with the phone.

Then middle son (the soldier) called and wanted to know if we had found his cell phone. I went up and looked around the room where Eleanor now resides and where middle son slept the few nights he slept here and did not see it. I told him we would mail it to him should it turn up.

He did get the box of all the other stuff he forgot when he left.

The good news is that he says he is not one of the 20,000 being sent over to Iraq. He sounded very relieved when he said it. This does not prohibit him from being one sent over later yet, but at least I have hope now that he will not be going in March.

On the fun side while I was gone, I discovered a really cute little yarn/fiber shop in Powhatan, Virginia which is just around the corner from the Academy. It's called Holly Spring Yarn Shop.
I bought some cashmere.

This is some Oh My Goddess!! stuff. I took it to class with me to let one of my fellow newbie probation officers feel it. She had expressed an interest in knitting as she watched me get about 9 inches completed on my green sweater while sitting in class. I thought it would be nice of me to share some really nice fiber with her.

Well, the bag made it around the room and all 53 newbie probation officers and six instructors fondled my cashmere! I may have to wash it before I spin it up. But it appears to be none the worse for wear. In any case, I spent $16 for an ounce of this stuff. But I know in my heart it will be worth every penny. It's really nice and the goats from which it came are raised by the woman who runs Holly Spring Homespun.

She sends the fleece out for processing (somewhere out West). She had some yarn already spun up and it too was wonderful.

I'm trying to decide if I will blend it with another fiber (like a good quality merino) or just spin it as is. The fiber is relatively short (about 2 inches) but has a nice crimp. It is incredibly fine.

I also bought a really pretty hand dyed roving that is merino. She does very nice work with his hand painted stuff. I was most impressed. She also sells spinning wheels and really truly understands the addiction -- like any good pusher.

She also has some really wonderful yarn for sale. And patterns. And she told me that January is "sweater month" and if you buy enough yarn to make a sweater there is some kind of significant discount. And on Monday evenings she hosts a knitting group.

I will be back to visit her.

And the Christmas tree is still up. I took the decorations off last weekend before I left with the understanding that it would be down and all the Yule stuff put up by the time I returned home. I guess sickness prevents productivity.