If I could have your attention, please

Lookie!!
It's here! It's here! The ginormous box was waiting for me when I made it home (late again) last night, and of course I promptly sat down and put it together (with a lot of commentary from Daughters, both Older and Younger). The woman who shipped it to me very kindly put little numbered stickers on the all the bits so that, if I lined up the numbers with each other, it would all go together neatly. She also included a printout of the Ashford instructions, which might be helpful if you're putting it together from all of its little pieces, but which I found confusing, since it had only been minimally disassembled. Isn't it luuurvely? It's an Ashford Traditional, and it came with a distaff, which I don't have attached in this picture, but only one bobbin, and no lazy kate, so I'm keeping an eye out.

Of course, I had to spend some time spinning last night (right?).
The fiber is more of the wonderful merino/tencel blend I spun a bobbin of at Common Threads; I figure if I can get another bobbin spun, I can ply it and see what it turns out like. This is definitely turning into a take-it-as-it-comes sort of experiment for me; I'm not being too scientific about it, but I think that that's not such a bad thing. I'm very glad that I spent some time playing with spindles before getting a wheel (I know, it wasn't a lot of time, but it's still true). The spindles slowed down the drafting/winding on process, such that I had time to let the spin run up the fibers before winding on, if I was spinning too tightly, and I could more easily stop and re-start if I wasn't drafting quickly enough. It is a nice way to take the process apart and to work on each bit.

Today, both of my students cancelled their independent study, and I got to come home an hour early. To an empty house. A whole hour to myself. It's been untold ages since I got to do that, and I've been feeling the lack. I'm trying to get to a place in my head where I feel like it's OK to say "no" to the things that people propose, without fretting unduly that they won't understand. This feeling of freedom, though, at being alone (blessed, blessed solitude) may be a good incentive. I practiced piano (and how long has it been since I did that?), and petted my dog, and just enjoyed silence. Yup. Must create time like this more often.

The Daughters are home from swimming, and the baked potatoes are starting to smell baked, and there's a spinning wheel calling from the other room. (Note: This was actually ready to be posted ages ago, but Blogger's been having issues. Here's hoping it makes it through this time!)