Gustav

3 years ago today, Katrina barreled into the gulf coast. If you don't live near a hurricane prone area, there is just no explaining how far reaching its effects were and still are. I knew it would be bad, but I had no idea how truly awful.

Now this new storm is headed for the Gulf Coast, and while nobody knows where it will make landfall, people on the coast and in New Orleans are gun shy. My town is 60 miles inland, with 1 major highway and 1 interstate that are evacuation routes. Already, the hotels are full, the grocery stores are selling out of crucial supplies, and gas prices jumped 30 cents in 24 hours. Luckily, I filled my tank on Monday night, before the prices soared, and got my shopping done on Wednesday, before people started going crazy. We're ready for this thing where ever it lands.

Some of the models are pointing it right at us, and some of them are predicting it will head towards Texas. It doesn't really matter to those of us who experienced Katrina. We aren't taking any chances. I have plenty of water, dried goods, batteries, toilet paper, and wine. If needs be, we'll cruise north on Monday, but I'm hoping we won't have to.

Finally, A Meme After My Own Heart

Food Meme

Food meme from Auntie Bubbo.

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you've eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

As the formatting shortcuts don't seem to work in Explorer, I'll just "yes or no" OK?

The VGT Omnivore's Vegetarian's Hundred:

1. Venison yes
2. Nettle tea no
3. Huevos rancheros no
4. Steak tartare no
5. Crocodile (does alligator count?)
6. Black pudding no
7. Cheese fondue yes
8. Carp no
9. Borscht no
10. Baba ghanoush yes
11. Calamari yes
12. Pho What?
13. PB&J sandwich yes
14. Aloo gobi no
15. Hot dog from a street cart yes
16. Epoisses cheese no
17. Black truffle chopped up in things. I wish!
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes yes
19. Steamed pork buns not to my knowledge
20. Pistachio ice cream yes
21. Heirloom tomatoes yes
22. Fresh wild berries yes
23. Foie gras maybe
24. Rice and beans yes
25. Brawn, or head cheese no
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper Probably a never
27. Dulce de leche no
28. Oysters yes
29. Baklava yes
30. Bagna cauda yes
31. Wasabi peas yes
32. Clam chowder yes
33. Salted lassi and sweet lassi no
34. Sauerkraut yes
35. Root beer float yes
36. Cognac yes
37. Clotted cream tea no
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O Probably never
39. Gumbo yes
40. Oxtail yes
41. Curried goat no
42. Whole insects Ick! I'd have to be really hungry
43. Phaal curry yes
44. Goat's milk yes
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more Probably, I don't remember
46. Fugu no
47. Chicken tikka masala no
48. Eel yes
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut yes
50. Sea urchin yes
51. Prickly pear yes
52. Umeboshi fruit no
53. Abalone yes
54. Paneer no
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal I can honestly say I don't think I've ever eaten a Big Mac sandwich
56. Spaetzle yes
57. Dirty gin martini yes
58. Beer above 8% ABV yes
59. Poutine no
60. Carob chips no
61. S'mores yes
62. Sweetbreads no
63. Kaolin the clay/mineral in Kaopectate? It's in all fast food shakes, so yes
64. Currywurst no
65. Durian fruit no
66. Frogs' legs yes
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake Beignets at the Cafe' Dumonde NOLA YES
68. Haggis no
69. Fried plantain yes
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette why are these in the same line? Andouillette Yes, Chittlins, no
71. Gazpacho yes
72. Caviar and blini Caviar, yes, blini, no
73. Louche absinthe no
74. Gjetost, or brunost cheese no
75. Roadkill no
76. Baijiu wine no
77. Hostess Fruit Pie (made with lard) yes
78. Snail yes
79. Lapsang souchong tea yes
80. Bellini yes
81. Tom yum soup no
82. Eggs Benedict yes
83. Pocky no
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant not a tasting menu, but have eaten at a 3SMR
85. Kobe beef no
86. Hare yes to rabbit
87. Goulash yes
88. Flowers nasturtium, violets, rose petals yes
89. Horse Gotta say Never
90. Criollo chocolate no
91. Spam yes
92. Soft shell crab yes
93. Rose harissa hot sauce no
94. Catfish yes
95. Mole poblano no
96. Bagel and lox yes
97. Lobster Thermidor no
98. Polenta yes
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee yes
100. Snake yes

So now you know it, I'll eat just about anything. Most of the no's are cuz I haven't had a chance yet. And I'm not proud of all the yesses either. Really, a Hostess Fruit Pie? I ought to be ashamed!

Conference Bike

Man, I really would love to take a spin on one of these!

Wedding Gifts

Two posts in one summer! Whoa, somebody hold me back!

Really, the dog has taken up so much of my time and energy, I just let a bunch of stuff slide. But, I have to stay up late tonight, and thought it was a perfect time to write. No doggie whining, no kids asking for something to eat-drink-do. No Mr. Z sitting me down with a list of things he wants me to do. Just me and my keyboard.

Knitting has been slow compared to past summers. I was working on Mr. Z's 2nd sock when I realized my sister's wedding was 2 weeks away, and I had promised a hand knit gift. I had planned on making an afghan, but it's been so blasted hot here, that the thought of knitting a large wool rectangle (even in air conditioning) was not motivating. I talked to my other sister, and she thought that linen hand towels were just the thing. Sister B (the one getting married) likes to pamper her skin.


I placed an order from Elann for 3 colors of Linus, 1 ball of Coto Canapone in natural, and 1 skein of Camila in chamois. I made 3 hand towels of the Linus (100% linen), each measuring approximately 10 x 22". I couldn't find a pattern I liked so I picked 3 stitch patterns from Claire Crompton's The Knitter's Bible and added a garter border around.

This was the first time I ever worked with linen and I was surprised by the yarn. I don't know what more expensive linen is like, but this stuff shed terribly. I was working in a cloud of lint the whole time. It was really bugging me, getting in my eyes, nose and mouth and all over my clothes. But boy does it block up beautifully and quickly. I wet blocked all the hand towels and when I took them up, they were crisp and lovely. Makes me want to work with linen again, but maybe a better quality.

The first one is the Dainty Chevron Pattern in Pecan:


This one is King Charles Brocade in Bamboo


And here is Crest of the Wave in Cream. This one is my least favorite. It think it looks a little sloppy, even though I tried to knit it and block it well. I'm thinking I might just give her the 2 others. Don't know yet.


I made a spa cloth with the Coto Canapone (approximately 50/50 cotton/hemp). The pattern is Bark Sedge Stitch Wash Cloth from Lion Brand. It's free on their website, but ya gotta register. Loved the pattern, loved the yarn. It was nice to whip something out in crochet after all the knitting I've done over the years. I almost forgot that I knew how to crochet.


Now I'm working on one more cloth. Probably a wash/spa cloth, but I'll wait and see how big it gets. The yarn is Camila (50/50 cotton linen) and the pattern is Basket Rib Hand Towel by Traci Heiner. It's a simple little pattern that has 4 different rows. Not too challenging, but something good to work on while you're talking to friends or watching TV.


So basically, I've been knitting wedding gifts, training my dog, shopping for school stuff (oh, BTW, that is the suckiest thing ever, ever! 15 glue sticks for 1 child in 1st grade, FIFTEEN!!!!? Mr. Z says they're probably putting up wall paper. And there's more where that came from, but, you know, I'm not gonna drag my bitchy irritation into this post--OOPS--too late!) cooking and friending. Here's some lovely bruschetta we made for our overnight guests last weekend:



Happy End of Summer Y'all! 10 more days till the boys go back to school!

Dog Days

Seems like summertime is slowing down my blogging. The boys finally finished baseball and I thought I would have a bit of a break. Catch up on my knitting, reading, writing, sleep late a few days,

But then something happened:

Hank.

Hank's 2 1/2 month old cur/retriever/lab???? mix pound puppy. He will probably get large and he's full of energy. Nippy energy that is. I have gone at this dog as I go at all my projects, full speed ahead. I've read books, watched videos, researched online and consulted various other Puppymamas. I'm trying to raise a gentle happy dog who will enjoy being part of this family. It takes up most of my free time.



After 2 weeks of home life here are Hank's accomplishments:

Mostly he poops and pees outside.
He's leash trained.
He's crate trained.
He sits to be fed, go in/out the door, and on command in general.
He waits when commanded.
He's learning stay.
He's trying really hard to curb his biting instinct, but sometimes #2 (perhaps I should rename him Puppybait) is just too much for him.
#2 is trying as well, but his instincts to move quickly, make squeaky noises and to raise his voice with Hank, are pretty deep seeded.
#1 and Hank have learned to coexist peacefully:



Hank's really growing well and is quite handsome. We get lots of questions about his breed. Usually I just say mutt or pound pup, but yesterday Mr. Z and I were talking about it, and decided we ought to make up a breed to tell people, just for fun. Like, Zoysia Hound, or something. Just a thought.



When Hank is outside sniffing around the yard, I sit in the shade and knit. I've been working on a pair of socks for Mr. Z for SOOO LONGGG! They should be finished by now, but they're not. I finally finished sock 1 and am on sock 2 now. The main yarn is Mountain Colors Bearfoot, a lovely superwash/mohair/nylon blend. It comes in 350 yd hanks and it's been so long since I've made Mr. Z socks, I couldn't remember if that would be enough, so I made the heels and toes out of the Froehlich Wolle Camel I bought in Boston. It's a pretty close match for the golds in the Bearfoot, and there's plenty to spare for my own pair of socks.



So that's how my summer is going: boys, a puppy and socks to be made. My house smells like dog, and I feel like I have another toddler around. He's pretty cute, though.

Surprises, Ravelry Meet Up, and Ongoing Projects

I'm slowly catching up with all that I need to do. My internets were on the blink over the weekend, so I fell a little behind, but I'm going to get it all done eventually.

First thing I'd like to show you is something I've been hiding for several months. It has to do with babies.

NO! Not any of mine. I'm done with that, thank you. But Sharon isn't. She's just a couple of months away from welcoming her new little baby girl into the world. Del and several other lovely ladies came up with the idea of an online baby shower, and I helped. I made the Rowan Elly jacket for the new baby using the Manos Silk Blend Sharon helped me pick out at Purl Soho.


For Monkey, I made Kimberly Chapman's Knitted Banana. Get it? Monkey/Banana? I used assorted acrylic worsted for this. It's really cute, and I have a couple of my own monkeys who want one.


Sharon was really surprised. It was hard to keep the secret, but so very worth it in the end. If you'd like to check out the Fiber Baby Blog, just click here.

Last weekend, a bunch of Mississippi Knitters, many of whom met through Ravelry, came down to my neck of the woods to visit a LYS, The Yarn Basket. I met them at the shop and led them to a nice restaurant for a late lunch. It was fun to meet everyone and to put faces to the Ravatars.

First we have Teresa in orange, the owner of The Yarn Basket, Petal, MS, and Chanda in green.


Next we have some Mississippi knitters doing what we do when we get to a yarn store:




And finally, we all went to a downtown restaurant, Brownstone's and had lovely Cajun food.



Yay! It was a blast! Now when I go to Jackson, I'll know some knitters. It's like being in a club or something. Ravelry is so great.

I guess many of you know I teach college art classes, and last semester I taught 2 sections of Design 2. It's basically color theory and application. The application part involved cutting colored paper and pasting it into designs that fit a certain set of requirements. I have also mentioned somewhere in this blog that I got facinated with felting sweaters I purchased from the Salvation Army. I kinda went crazy with it for several weeks, buying the sweaters, felting them, then cutting them up. I didn't have any project in mind, but I knew I had something I could work with.

Then it occurred to me, that I could blend several interests together using this one medium. I love teaching, am fiber obsessed, am interested in traditionally female art forms, and love the idea of collaboration. I devised a group project that involved all these interests as well as recycling of material.

First I cut as many 9 inch squares as I could get out of the various sweaters. I saved all the scraps. Late in the semester, I assigned my students a project where they had to make a 9 inch square design based on the colors of felt I had available. They cut and pinned their designs onto the 9 inch squares and put them in baggies. Now all I have to do is hand applique' all the designs, then sew them together somehow, and put a backing on. A breeze, I tell you...yeah, right! I know it's a lot of work, but I have been thinking about this and I simply have to do it. It's gonna take a while, as there are around 40 squares and even though I told the students to keep them simple, some of them have a different idea of what simple means.

But there were some lovely designs. Here are 2 that I particularly like. Please excuse the fact that they are still in the baggies.




I'll keep you all posted on the progress the felt quilt as it moves along.

Boston

In my last post I mentioned a trip and now I'm gonna tell you all about it. Boston was great. Mr. Z had a business trip he had to make, and it just so happens his grandmother and several aunts and uncles live in the area. So we decided it would be a good thing to take the kids out of school the week before the LAST week of school to visit their GG, Great Aunts and Great Uncles, and various cousins however many times removed.

First we stayed in Boston for a few days and saw some sights. There were swan boats, Paul Revere's house, the Science Museum and some really awesome cemetaries.

Here are they boys on a Swan Boat


And here they are messing with electricity at the Science Museum


#'s 1 & 2 were all business. If they were walking on the Freedom Trail, they were really ON the Trail, mowing down any stationery tourists in their way.


I really liked this tombstone. While the motif is similar to most of the others, it was more intense.


After Boston business was completed, we went to Nahant, where the paternal relatives live. We stayed with them and went to the supercool pebbly beach nearby. There were great skipping rocks, and sea glass and all kinds of other beach debris.

Nahant Rocks


Beach Pebbles


We made a day trip to visit the maternal relatives in Plympton. The boys loved Great Aunt H and Great Uncle D. Aunt H had chickens for them to feed and frogs and tadpoles.

Feeding the Chickens


Both boys ended up waist deep in frog swamps with nets. All frogs captured were released no worse for the wear.

Aunt H is holding the creature, cuz I really had no such inclination.


We also visited the Frank Gehry Building on MIT Campus. It's totally nuts:



When faced with so much reflective surface, the only thing to do is take a picture of yourself

And of course I must speak of food and yarn. We ate very well in Boston, and photographed several meals, but my favorite was the Eggs Benedict a Charley's on Newberry Street. If you're ever in Boston and looking for a reasonably priced, kid friendly restaurant, with a great wine list, this place has it all.



While on Newberry Street, I found Newberry Yarn, a little LYS. The boys were patient enough for me to choose this yarn (did I mention that while Mr. Z was in meetings, it was just me & the boys in Beantown?) Froehlich Wolle Camel. 70% merino, 30% Camel. I got 2 skeins at 200 meters per. I am going to make myself a special pair of socks. I've never seen this stuff before, so I don't know anything about it. It's Swiss, and was pretty cheap, around $7.00 per. I'm just excited I finally get to try out some camel.



That's enough for now. I'm just trying to catch up and lay it out there for you.

Kool Aid Dyeing

This spring was busier than I can remember. I travelled a lot and the boys' sports seemed to take up much more time than before. School is finally out for me and I have a week before the boys are set free. Perfect time to try something I've been wanting to do for a while. So I jumped on the Kool Aid Wagon.

The yarn is Knit Picks Bare Superwash Merino DK. The flavors are grape, black cherry, fruit punch and orange. I basically followed the Knitty instructions for Kool Aid dyeing. First a soaking bath for the yarn, then highly concentrated drink mix/water mixture applied to the hank using cheapo mustard and ketchup dispensers.

I'm pretty pleased with the results, but they aren't perfect. The grape wasn't as strong as the other colors and kinda looks washed out. Also, there are places in all the colors that didn't get saturated with dye. You can see the whitish spots here and there.



This picture shows how I wanted the whole hank to look:



And here's another close up of the colors. It's a little blurry, but the colors seem the truest in this one:


I think I'm going to reapply the dye tomorrow to saturate the weak spots. I am trying to decide whether I want to reapply each color as before, or over-dye the whole thing with pink lemonade. It's light enough that it wouldn't cover the other colors, and it's a hue that would blend will them all. I'll sleep on that one.

This was a great learning experience for me. I was surprised that the excess water that flowed from the hank was CLEAR. Then it occurred to me that the yarn absorbs the dye like a magnet. I know that sounds obvious, but my water was crystal clear.

There are lots of better blogs out there about this process. Sorry I'm giving such an abbreviated account, but I've got all kinds of things going on right now, and I'm trying to catch up. I just wanted to show you what I've done. I've got other posts for the near future. A recent trip to Boston, a meeting of a bunch of MS Ravelers, several FO's and WIP's. I hope you'll come back and check things out soon. I will try not to let so much time pass before I write again.

Something New

Guess what I got?

One of these:


I've never been very good at sewing. Every time I tried it, I felt like I was being tied up and put in a cage. It just drove me crazy. Actually, my lack of sewing ability is what led to crocheting/knitting. My gramma tried to teach me to sew, but my ineptitude drove even that patient saint to swear, so she introduced me to yarn and hook.

Well, I was cruising blogs and saw this on cosmicpluto. I was smitten, and decided to try something besides straight seams. I made a couple of versions of the shirt, this being the more successful of the two:


Simplicity 3835, shirt


And I tried a dress version as well. I opted to use the shirt top (elastic) instead of the dress top. It turned out OK, but looks a little like a mui-mui. I think if I shorten it a little (or a lot) it will look less frumpy.


Simplicity 3835 dress with shirt top


Here's what the fabric looks like close up:


I also made a skirt. The pattern is Simplicity 7655. It turned out pretty cute, and was easy as pie. I've got a few other sewing projects going as well. Maybe this will be the thing for summer. Give knitting a much needed break.

21 Years Ago Today

All day I've been thinking it was 20 years ago today, but I just figured out it was 21. I was riding my bike to work, and it was raining slightly. I had to be there at 1:00 and I had slept late and not eaten. I picked up a doughnut at the the shop on the way and put it in my backpack. I was hurrying and not paying attention, and I almost missed my turn at the bottom of the hill. I turned too quickly and the bike slid out from underneath me, causing me to pivot down on my hip. The result was instant shock and intense pain. I had to lay in the rain for about 1/2 an hour before an ambulance got there, and several more hours of emergency room/pain medications/X-ray/Orthopedic surgeon consultation before it was determined that my femur was splintered in 4 places near the hip. I had to have emergency surgery involving a pin, some kind of fake metal joint, 4 screws and 37 (if I remember correctly) staples to close the whole mess.

Result: 2 surgeries, 1 nasty-thigh-long scar, and an uncanny ability to predict impending changes in the weather. I hardly ever think about it until April 13th rolls around. I always wonder what it would have been like if I hadn't screwed up my leg. How I wouldn't limp when I get tired, or how people wouldn't stare at the swimming pool or beach. The weird thing is, I'm pretty proud of my scar, and I feel bad for the people who see it for the first time. I can see the shock on their faces and how they try to pretend they didn't notice. I want to make them feel more comfortable by acknowledging it and telling them what happened.

I'm not sad, I just can't believe how much time has passed since the accident. In a couple of years I will have lived with the scar longer than I lived without it. That's just so weird.

DOINK!

OK. Has this ever happened to you? You're working out at the Y, zoning out to make the time go faster. Only 55 more minutes of step class left, what can my brain do to make the time pass more quickly? Your mind wanders around and goes AHAAA!

Camper Van Beethoven is a play on words! It's camper van+ludwig van.

I've know of this band for, let's see, 20 years or so.

I'm so dumb.

I've Got to Get My Act Together

I'm so far behind in so many things, I'm not even going to list them. I haven't been lazy, just crazy busy, and um, a little too preoccupied with Ravelry. It's killing me folks.

I'm going to take care of some loose ends here. Lovely Del, at Cozy's Place honored me with a you made my day award, some time back. I think I thanked her, and I'm supposed to list 10 bloggy friends who've made my day, so here I go (in no particular order)
Betty: Words can't express how great she is
Sharon: we were separated at birth or something
Elabeth: she's living my dream
Susan: she made such a sweet little girl
Sandra: not only can she craft like hell, she'll tell us about her sex life, too
Sam: she's the cutest ever and just started her own blog
Del: Ping Pong, she's just so lovely and multitalented
Bubbo: she pantzed me
Squidwidget: she's just so damn funny, and can pour bronze
Vintage Purls: I love her cool vintage patterns


Done.

Next, Sharon (see above link, I'm getting lazy) tagged me for this meme

The Rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book of 123 (or more) pages.

The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (I'm cheating a little here, cuz the nearest book was a cookbook, and this is what I've actualy been slogging through. The British spellings of ploughed and colour are in the book. They are NOT my affectation)

2. Open the book to page 123 and find the 5th sentence.

If you ask me: "By what practical experience can you show me these points?" I reply-so far as concerns the point of diminution which moves with you-when you walk by a ploughed field look at the straight furrows which come down with their ends to the path where you are walking, and you will see that each pair of furrows will look as though they tried to get nearer and meet at the [farther] end..... (Apparently Leo loved the run-on sentence)

3. Post the next 3 sentences.

In so far as the Art of Painting is concerned with the representation of the surfaces of objects it is allied to spatial geometry. The surfaces are conceived as without substance like geometric planes; and the axioms of Euclid's Elements defining the point, the line, the plane apply to them.

Moreover, the places and colours of objects are revealed by rays of light which radiate from their source in pyramidal formation.

4. Tag 5 people - Yeah, I'm pulling a Del on this one.


Gratuitous kumquat
.

NYC: There and Back Again

I LOVE NEW YORK!!!

Our trip was to celebrate our upcoming 10th anniversary as well as the last time we were actually in NYC. It couldn't have been more fabulous.


We stayed at The Surrey Hotel on the Upper East Side, kind of an old elegant place but not over the top. Mr. Zoysia (who will from now on be referred to as Mr. Z) was fascinated with our Rear Window view. Maybe a little too fascinated.


The weather was brisk, but not too bad. Before we left, I gave him his gift, a We Call Them Pirates Hat, made of Blue Sky Alpaca Sport Weight. It really came in handy.


We had so much fun. We went to the Met, and MoMa. We saw Spamalot which was a riot. I was a little skeptical at first, but it was more Monty Python than the actual movies. I didn't think Clay Aiken was Python material, but, I have a newfound respect for the guy. He was able to poke fun at himself and all the rumors surrounding him.

One of my favorite highlights was meeting Sharon. She's such a great person, and the two of us were like the proverbial peas-in-a-pod. We had the same taste in yarn, fabric, food, and so much more. I also had the privilege of meeting Monkey and A. They were both extremely charming. Here we are at Purl, wallowing in yarny fun:


We took a walk on Park Avenue, and the store fronts were fantastic. I was particularly taken with this paper bouquet:


We met up with a couple of old friends. Mr. Z's from college, Kimberly, took us to this great little Italian place, Supper, in the East Village. The food was great, and Kimberly is just one of my most favorite people. After we were done, we stepped outside, under the gas heat lamps, and took this pic. We're red cuz of the lamps:


Our last night in town we went to the New York Philharmonic. Did I mention I'm a sucker for strings? I can die happy now. Afterwards we ate at the Cafe Des Artistes. The food and wine were excellent, but the murals were spectacular:


Oh, it's hard to turn into a pumpkin after that whirlwind of friends-food-wine-art-music-fun, but the time has come. At least they make it worth coming home: