The need for cupholders

Some days Emily suggests that I get a mini-van. This suggestion seems to be coming more frequently these days. I think it has to do mostly with looms and the transport there-of, though I'm not completely certain about this. It might be that she is just fed up with my little manual transmission Volkswagen Golf. She (the car) is 13 years old now and just turned over 234,000 miles. She has a few issues. The air conditioner is touch and go. As we currently live at high altitude in Colorado I am toughing that one out until next summer (just in case). The antennae for the radio fell off years ago which can get a little frustrating when the only station that comes in is that station that I'm sure teenagers love but I'm just too old for... or Focus on the Family radio. They must have strong signals because NPR NEVER comes in. The locks pretty much don't work (until they do and I set the car alarm off), and the squirter on the back window has emptied the contents of the washer fluid reservoir onto the ground when you turn it on accidentally for about a decade.

The very worst problem though is that the cupholder broke. This happened a few months ago spilling a large soda all over my lap. And I ask you in all seriousness, what good is a car without a cupholder?

So the mini-van isn't a horrible idea, though I have always reserved them in my mind for soccer moms. I completely understand why if you have four kids you need a car with a big side door that opens magically with a remote keychain, a flat floor that is easier to vacuum the cheerios off of, and a long distance to the backseat so you don't get hit in the back of the head quite as often by flying bits of soccer gear. After all, minivans get relatively good gas mileage considering how large they are, they have seats that come out resulting in a large cargo area with a flat floor which would be great for looms, yarn, and other weaving-related items. The slider doors would be fantastic for accessing the tubs of teaching materials or the wet dog, and if I got a newer one, I bet it would have a cupholder. What I'm worried about is that a minivan is definitely not cool for a young(ish) artist... but then is weaving tapestry really cool anyway? Maybe it is a lost cause.

At any rate, this is what is happening in the Southwestern USA right now...

The Hatch green chili is out in huge burlap bags in the grocery store parking lots. And the chili roasters are going ALL the time.

I hiked up to twelve thousand some feet on Sunday and was disturbed to find this:

I know I go through this every year and every year it is traumatic to me. My list of hikes to be completed this year is hardly touched and the snow will fly within the month most likely. The high country will be inaccessible to me by Thanksgiving (no, I don't want to heli-ski or learn to telemark). But winter brings it's own time of growth and I will soon be looking forward to the spring again. Plus the changing leaves are very pretty.

And I am still dyeing yarn.

Sometimes in the rain. (Yes, this yarn is white. It was drying after scouring a large batch. It will be colored soon enough.)

But the best news is that I was able to start a new tapestry yesterday. It turns out I don't hate the LeClerc tapestry loom as much as I thought I would and the little tapestry is coming along nicely. It is so good to weave again. Since I just took a new part-time job in which I have to drive a fair amount, lets hope that (1) the Volkswagen doesn't shit the biscuit, (2) the job is enjoyable and leaves me more time for weaving *it should*, and (3) I figure out a way to fix the cupholder because I am really going to need it.