Real winter for once

We may have more or less lost the sun, but it is still very wintry. Less fog today, but even more frost. It was very, very beatiful, the fog had frozen itself to all the trees and made a fairyland out there.

I was going to take photos, forgot my camera when we went out to lunch, and by the time we came home, the temperature had gone up a very little and it had all gone. Maybe tomorrow...

I say "we" went out, the DSM was working at home today and sometimes when he does that, he takes a longer lunch hour and we indulge ourselves. So today was a very nice meal at the Hinchcliffe - and what's more, no need to cook this evening! Even those of us who like to cook appreciate a night off sometimes.

Cindy - your question about the Haldane. I certainly take your point about it as a wheel, very nice once upon a time, slightly limited now in the light of some of the improvements modern wheel makers have come up with.

Yes, the one I was talking about did have leather pieces both fore and aft on the flyer, both in a good condition. I don't have all that much experience with this set up, although having said that, my Timbertops also has the same. I oil my spindle shaft liberally, and so far, all is well. My feeling is that doing this is ok, but that oiling the leather itself might cause problems - I was advised to do so with a charka I had once and it ruined the leather, made it go soft and floppy instead of staying at the necessary rigidity to operate efficiently. So my advice for what it is worth would be to oil the spindle shaft and not the leather but not to stress if a little oil transfer to it. I'd be interested in anone else's opinion?

Another useful bit of spinning last night....sigh. But nothing much happening on the fibre front so far today, what with lunch out, a whole stack of ironing long overdue and a visit from P the gardener this morning to consult. We are nearly there - some more heavy duty pruning and cutting back, a path of sorts to finish off along the front edge of the upper garden, and a bit of wall repair. We have made a massive seed order, not to mention the utterly essential nematodes. But I have said that another year of no veggies growing because of the weather and slugs and I want to stop beating our heads against a stone wall and just put in perennial shrubs! We can't do owt about the weather; the slugs we have tried everything our consciences will allow short of a flame thrower. (The cats did not respond at all positively to slug hunting training.....) A few weeks yet to the real start of the season - fingers crossed.

Ok - I'm going to try the Blogger spellcheck again. If it doesn't work yet again - can someone help me retrieve it, please?

(No, nothing. Nada, etc. Knickers.)