Halfway

I love listening to the radio when Sandy Wood from the University of Texas McDonald Observatory starts to speak. Her voice is hypnotic and her Stardate stories always make me look up. In December, she spoke of the holiday skies, the winter solstice, and of course, the eclipse. She talked about how in present times, the winter solstice marks the beginning of winter, but in the past it was a time of celebration marking not the beginning, but the middle of winter.

I liked the idea that we were halfway through the season even though everyone else was saying it was just beginning. Using that show's premise, we're almost done with winter and if Sandy timed it all right, it ends with Ground Hog's Day which, hey, look at the clock, is only 16 days away! From this point forward, I will not look at the calender in the same old way. I'm adopting Sandy's point of view.


Keeping with the halfway point of this post, I want to talk about some things that weren't to the halfway point on Friday, but by now have passed it by. The Pimpelliese shawl is one of them and lo and behold, is that wool I've been spinning?


Yep.

Lately I've been spending more time with my wheel and it feels pretty good. The bobbin is full of some fiber I picked up at the Michigan Fiber Festival in Ann Arbor this past fall. I'm half way through spinning this. I'm not sure what all of the fiber is, but it's an alpaca blend. It does feel sproingy, so there may be a little merino in there, too. Doesn't matter. It wants to be mittens when all is said and done and despite its makeup, all it really needs to be is warm.

Enjoy what's left of January as you head out in the morning. It's already halfway gone.


To hear her voice, be sure to click the play button if you click the Sandy Wood link.

Photo: Wiki commons, The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, shines above Bear Lake. United States Air Force photo by Senior Airman Joshua Strang.