On The Market

The Stash Haus is finally on the market and we've got an open house this Sunday afternoon.

It's looking so good, we don't want to leave!








Needless to say, I've had no knitting time in recent weeks.

All that is about to change. Your intrepid blogger will have much more fiber content in the next few posts (finally!). I'm meeting friends tomorrow night for late night knitting at the Sow's Ear. On Saturday, I'm giving myself a belated birthday present and heading to the Midwest Fiber & Folk Art Fair.

THEN, later next week The Stash Haus will be blogging from Knitting Camp! I signed up for this last spring before we knew we were relocating. The thought of heading to that knitting oasis is a treat that has kept me going during the past couple of months.

So, anyone want to buy a house...yarn not included?

Civics 101

Happy 232nd Birthday, America!

We celebrate with parades, fairs, barbeques and cookouts (ah, the corn on the cob, the bratwurst cooked on the grill, the watermelon, the strawberries!), and fireworks. I love all the trappings of the holiday, but the trappings can distract us from the underlying reason for the holiday. We're celebrating the birth of our nation - a nation that is not very old compared to others in the world. Our history contains great events we are proud of and events we'd rather gloss over and forget, but we shouldn't - otherwise how will we avoid repeating them?

In honor of our country's birthday, I'd like to share some words of wisdom with you all. I chose these quotes because I believe they are as relevant today as they were 40, 60, or 200 years ago.

[T]o preserve the republican form and principles of our Constitution and cleave to the salutary distribution of powers which that [the Constitution] has established... are the two sheet anchors of our Union. If driven from either, we shall be in danger of foundering.
Thomas Jefferson, letter to Judge William Johnson, June 12, 1823

Observe good faith and justice towards all Nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all.
George Washington, Farewell Address, September 19, 1796

And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.
Abraham Lincoln, Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863

Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, radio address, October 26, 1939

The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

For in the final analysis, our most basic common link, is that we all inhabit this small planet, we all breathe the same air, we all cherish our children's futures, and we are all mortal.
John F. Kennedy, Speech at The American University, Washington, D.C., June 10, 1963

Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.
Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love, 1963

Suggested readings for rekindling hope:

JFK's Inaugural Address
Senator Obama's Speech - The America We Love

Want to know even more? Read Jacob Weisberg's Slate article about the best books and web sites about the birth of America and David Greenberg's article about patriotism.

Happy 4th, y'all.

Stash Withdrawal

Who knew such a thing existed?

I didn't.

Until now.

So when you last tuned in, you saw the beginnings of getting-the-house-ready-to-sell. We've been put behind schedule on that as the last 2 weekends have been spent showing the house (well before it's ready and looking it's best) to neighbors who have small children and are growing out of their homes. We have quite a bit of work to do since we had no intention of moving until about a month ago and thus were slowly fixing up the house to our liking. Now we are trying to fit what would have been done in the next 2-5 years into a couple of weeks.

This


has become this.


While packing up the stash, it dawned on me that my yarn and I might not be reunited until September. Or later. This caused minor heart palpitations.

OK, major palpitations.

Cold sweats. Dreams about massive yarn shortages and me without a readily accessible stash. What if there's a disaster? What if my stash disappears in a cyclone to Oz, just like Dorothy's house? What if a plague of moths descends - moths that are able to chew through wood and plastic to get to the bounty? How can I part with my sentimental reminders of trips taken, places seen, and new friends made who live far, far away?

I hurriedly gathered patterns and yarn.

Never mind that when sorting the stash I found enough WIPs to keep me busy until 2015.


The more of a sentimental attachment I have to things, the more difficult it is to be parted from them. I think I could deal with a separation from DH for that length of time with more grace and less anxiety. At least he and I have the capability to stay in touch - we can email - we can call. My stash sadly lacks the verbal skills of Harry.

I think there are many knitters out there who understand this behavior - the ones who travel with too much knitting...you know... just in case. In case you actually finish the other 4 projects you packed. In case the car breaks down in the middle of nowhere and you're stuck waiting for repairs in a place that has no LYS. In case there's an unforeseen 14 hour layover at the airport. In case you get shipwrecked on a desert island. Really now - who of us hasn't packed fewer non-essential items, like clothes and toiletries, in order to accommodate more yarn? I am sufficiently self-aware to know that I should not try to curb this impulse. Sometimes a person just has to give in to the foibles of one's personality. I'd rather have too much with me than not enough.

And that last sentence, children, is as good of a reason for the stash as any I've heard.

A Sad Day

It's a sad day in the knitting blogosphere for Rachel and her family and also in the world of politics and journalism for the loss of Tim Russert.

I can't think of a better epitaph than to paraphrase Tom Brokow. They will be missed as they were loved - greatly.

Chaotic, Tumultuous, Cataclysmic

Life at the Stash Haus in the recent past can be described with these words...and a few choice others, which are probably best left unprinted.

DH has burned out in his current position. He's given notice and will be leaving at the end of summer. In order to finance DH's job change, we are moving to a small town about an hour away. And when I say small, I mean SMALL. As in, there's not even one stoplight in the town. It resembles Garrison Keillor's Lake Woebegone.

So we are now in the process of selling the current Stash Haus and buying another - and trying to stay sane through all the details, financing, negotiation, and experts that these events require. Pre-marital counseling, bah-humbug! I think a more worthwhile enterprise would be to have couples who wish to marry buy/sell a house together or require them to complete a remodeling project together. If they still want to get married after that, I can't think of a better predictor for marital success.

So, as you can see, the Sorting of the Stash was not just a mad, impulsive attempt at reorganization. The stash, liberated from its closet, was taking up quite a part of the house. This is just about 1/2 of the bins.



We rented a couple of these. The stash, our books, CDs, and other household goods and furniture are being stored in them.



Before I put the stash into the temporary storage containers, I added some natural moth balls (or so I hope they turn out to be). I bought cotton tea bags and an 8 oz. bag of whole cloves. I hope moths don't like cloves - if so, I think the stash is safe.



What I like about the tea bags is that I'll be able to use them again and replace the cloves when they lose their potency or to fill with any other natural moth repellant mixture.

The Stash Haus is being prepared to look its best for showing to potential buyers.



As for the occupants of the Stash Haus, we are exhausted down to the last one of us...