As the title suggests, I feel like I am marking time until we leave next month. From reading several blogs on www.hitchitch.com I know others have felt this way also. The best description is to call it "Hitch Itch" I guess.
After my morning walk and breakfast; I vacuumed the kitchen floor and cleaned under the refrigerator before Clyda got back from water aerobics. When we redid the kitchen we installed a bamboo laminate floor, which we love for the look, but it shows every little piece of dirt. While Clyda prepared lunch for her friends, I went to do some banking and grocery shopping and other errands. I was looking for 2-6 foot pieces of 1 inch angle aluminum and stainless steel lag bolts so I could make a frame to add another solar panel to the trailer. I have one 125 watt solar panel but still have the 50 and 35 watt off the old Lance trailer. When I traded trailers the dealer told me to take my solar panels off. I was only too glad to do it.
After lunch I worked on two of my unfinished baskets. One has a few problems and I needed to remove several rows of weaving I had done earlier. The biggest problem with basket making is the preparation of materials. For the one basket, I am soaking some tule reed which has been hanging in my garage for several years. It is brittle when dry so can’t be bent. I start by soaking it in a towel in the bathtub. It may be tomorrow before it is soaked enough to work with. I love working with tule as it has a silky feeling when wet and fills in the warp or in this case ribs, remarkable fast. It is also compactable, so it makes a tight basket.
Example of Tule from an earlier basket
