Charmed, I'm Sure

Friday was a banner day.  My 39th 25th birthday present arrived with grand fanfare.  The smallies called me on my mobile as I sat in traffic on the way home from the office:  "Mom!  A BIG BOX came on a brown truck!"  "How big is it?" I asked  "Cam!  Get the measuring tape - Mom wants to know how big it is!"  Sounds of measurements being taken by children.  My excitement mounts.  Traffic stubbornly declines to move.  "It's 27 inches high and 20 inches wide.  Who's Lendrum?"  My knuckles whiten on the wheel and I will the traffic logjam to release with all the power of my being...
Nothing.  I fantasize about the moment when I will greet my wheel.  MY wheel.  Love the sound of that.

An hour later, the smallies and I bust open the box.  As thrilled as I am to meet the new wheel, I never anticipated how much my kids would like it.  They treadle for as long as I will let them, lulled to relaxation by the gentle motion.  So far they are much better spinners than I am.  When I treadle, I am also attempting to add fiber to the process.  This has yet to result in anything resembling yarn. 

I never have spun on a wheel.  Any wheel.  I only last week managed my spindle. But true to form, I signed up for a class with the venerable Judith MacKenzie McCuin, hoping I can learn to make a continuous thread in time, and only then began casting about for a wheel to purchase.  Turns out you're supposed to try out wheels before you buy one.  Turns out there are all different kinds, and if you buy one without trying it first you might not like it.  But how am I supposed to do that?  There isn't anywhere to see wheels within 80 miles of my house.  And if there were, wouldn't I be unequipped to judge equipment that I cannot operate?  So just as with motorcycles and books in languages I cannot read and lots of other things I get excited to discover, I picked one that seems right, and that's the one I'll learn on.  This reverse strategy has served me well in the past, so who am I to start questioning it now?  Besides, as difficult as it is to get a wheel sometimes (whaddya mean, six-month wait?), I felt I should leap first and look later when this one presented itself.  Thanks Morgaine! 

I'm visiting my pal Carson this weekend, who spins on the very same brand.  Hopefully he can teach me a thing or two, though at the moment, I have my doubts.  I can't believe how hard it is to make string out of fluff.

In the meantime, I'm just playing with my wonderful machine.  The wood feels like satin and it makes the most lovely swishing sounds.  I'm dreaming of the day it will whisper its secrets to me...