Recent Spinning

I have quite the blessed gal lately. First off, my husband forced me to get a new dishwasher. Our old one had been broken for nearly a year. It was the second time the pump has gone out on that machine, and like a petulant toddler, I threw a tantrum and refused to get it fixed or go shopping for a new one.  It never really cleaned the dishes all that well anyway, despite being sold to us as a friggin' awesome dishwasher. What is the point of a dishwasher if you have to mostly wash the dishes before loading them? 

Anyway, while we were shopping for a new fridge since ours was leaking out increasing amounts of water onto the kitchen floor, Brady declared we were getting a new dishwasher as well. I was not sure, but now that it is installed, it is so wonderful......there just are no words. Washing dishes by hand for quite a while has made the machine seem nearly amazing. While the dishes are being washed, I can do other stuff! Like spinning!

That brings us to my second bit of wonderfulness. I received a box containing an extra bobbin, a beautiful niddy-noddy, and a lazy Kate.....all which match my Kromski Sonata. So far, all I have done is look at them admiringly, but I am sure I can get some use from them soon.

For finished spinning, I have this skein to show you. This was 4 oz. of bamboo roving that I purchased shortly before our cruise. The color reminded me of the Caribbean waters that I have marveled at, and so even though I was intimidated by spinning bamboo, I bought it anyway. It is two-ply, and about a sport or perhaps heavy fingering weight. I am really happy with this yarn, which I think will make a nice small scarf or shawlette.

My collection of handspun yarns is slowly growing. So far, they just sit and look pretty on my shelf. Honestly, I like looking at them enough, that I am okay with that for the time being. 

Silly Chicken Tricks

We have a goji berry plant in our backyard that Brady planted a few years ago. It has grown quite large and produces many, many goji berries each year. They are not all that wonderful when eaten fresh, although once they are dehydrated are a nice substitute for raisins in cookies. Dehydrated or not, there really is more than we can eat. We do have some backyard residents who love them. The kids regularly pick goji berries to toss to the chickens, who lovingly gather around when they see someone near the bush. Me, Brady, and Princess were doing just that when we discovered just how much they love those berries.

Two of our chickens, Spirit and Starlight, jumped to get the berries from Brady's hand. The two in the background, Sweetie and Princess (the chicken named by our very own Princess) were having none of those shenanigans and just waited for more to be tossed to them. I don't know if anyone else would find this amusing, but I found it downright hilarious.

Senses Spa aboard the Disney Fantasy

Each of the four Disney ships have a wonderful spa, called Senses,  that has a variety of great treatments. On our third cruise, aboard the Fantasy, me and Brady scheduled a couple's massage. It was the first massage I have ever had, and I was unsure about how relaxing it would be. I am not much of a touch-feely person, so it honestly gave me a bit of anxiety as the time for our massage approached. All my worries were pointless. The two ladies who did our massages were great,and the whole experience very relaxing.

We started our treatment by being led to the women's and men's changing rooms. Inside, an attendant showed us how to operate the lockers, and where to get robes and shower shoes. We were also told where to head to when we finished changing.

The location where me and Brady met back up was the relaxation room. The room has a number of white, very comfortable, recliners and a beautiful ambience. There is spa waters flavored with cucmber or lemon, and a selection of teas available that you can help yourself to. This is where I really started to feel calm and relaxed. Our masseuses came in shortly afterward to discuss what type of massage each of us wanted. They were both very nice and easy-going, which put me at ease.

Just like the rest of the spa, the couple's massage room was beautifully decorated. The massage was very relaxing and had a wonderful finishing touch of putting me and Brady's hands together. I enjoyed it very much. 

The spa treatments at Senses are generally fairly expensive. I do feel that it was worth it when looking at the whole experience.

An example of one of the teen spa treatment rooms.

On our latest cruise, we decided to let our oldest daughter get a facial at the teen spa area, called Chill. This is an area located in Senses Spa that is specifically for teens. There is a complete list of treatments for the 13 to 17 age crowd, and rooms that are decorated with more of a young, funky flair to them. Once again, this was not a cheap experience, but our daughter really enjoyed it. From what she told us, the woman giving her the facial was very nice and made her feel relaxed. Teens will need a parent to drop them off  in order to sign the necessary paperwork.

Senses Spa waiting rooms. This is also where some of the informational classes that are presented by the spa are held.

 Me and Brady finished our Palo brunch shortly before she was scheduled to get finished, so we made our way to the spa waiting room.  We had quite a fun time looking out the large windows at a bird that was gliding along the side of the ship. I can only imagine that it had started with the ship when we were at Jamaica, since there were no islands around that we could see. We were mesmerized enough by the bird that we missed our daughter. Thank goodness for wavephones, so we could catch up with her to see how it was.

Happy Fourth of July!

Our family had a wonderful July 4th, as I hope yours did as well. We are all spending the lovely, mellow time when the weather is cooling down a little and everyone is relaxing before it gets dark and we will all migrate outside to watch fireworks.

We started our day with a parade. I am not sure how things are in different parts of this country, but here in Utah, parades are a big thing. The kid of thing that it is nearly required that you venture out the previous day (even if it is pouring rain with close lightning like it was here) to set out a blanket so you could have a place to watch. Me, Brady, Spike, and Squirt had a nice time watching the festivities though, and we loved waving and yelling at Princess as she went by on the float with her Girl Scouts. Next time though....next time I will bring along our canopy. The heat was brutal! Luckily, we had our umbrella and some kids walking by selling cold drinks.

Totally unpractical, but I totally want one of these cars.

The bagpipers were awesome!

To cool off, we went over to my in-laws home to play in their pool. Most of Brady's siblings were there, and the kids got the chance to see their cousins, some of whom live far away. Swimming may not be my favorite thing in the world to do, but on a day like today, the cool water was wonderful.

I can now hear the first bit of the pops and bangs of fireworks from outside. Happy Fourth of July!