Mystery items

This is what I did last week while DTE was playing with fire. I had a brief lesson on Judy's spinning wheel and here is the product of that, skeined up and loose so you can really see what it looks like.

Finally, the mystery item Jessi has been going crazy for weeks now with curiosity about. When I told her that my friend needed a foster home for it and Hubband said our house was the logical fostering place, she wanted to know what kind of wheel it was. I asked the owner if it had a name, and she kind of gave me a blank look and said, "Is it supposed to?" I then asked her what kind and she didn't know. So after I got it home, I told Jessi it was a Louet something. Seriously, that was the best I could answer at the time. Therefore she has been dying to see a picture of it so she could figure out what it was and give me long-distance help when I need it.
I am not sure how she is going to give me help from Alabama with what could prove to be my biggest challenge when it comes to learning how to spin. Oribel has already shown me how much she likes any yarn, and she particularly loves yarn that is moving. Fortunately I have figured out how to stop it when she decides she needs to jump up on the moving wheel to knock the drive band off, or stick her paw into the spokes. Don't be expecting any awesome spinning out of me very soon. I am thinking I could end up with a kitten with a broken leg, a smashed head, or some such similar horrible thing.
Today she has been really busy with distributing presents. She has given the dogs three coasters and the fish has been blessed with two. Apparently there was something wrong with their clean dishes having just water in them. Fortunately I didn't get any wet ones dropped on me at 6:30 this morning for a game of fetch. It has been known to happen.
Oribel also likes to be up high to be able to see, so she tends to spend a lot of time riding around on my shoulder. The other day we went up the stairs, put stuff away and then back down the stairs, got a cup of coffee, and then back upstairs, the whole time with her hanging out on my shoulders. Today she decided she needed to be just a little taller to look at a curtain rod and thought the top of my head was a good place to look from. It didn't work out so well for her, what with slippery hair and all. It was kind of funny though.
In other news, Hubband and DTE arrived in Shanghai, spent one night, and then took the train to Beijing to meet up with our friends and their hosts/guide for a few days. They called this morning (for me, but it was late tonight for them) to let me know they have passed the latest stage of their journey safely.