Down to the wire

So my dance troupe has a performance (for a non-dancer audience!) coming up in 3 weeks, and as of yesterday only had 1/4 of the song choreographed. Freak out! We'd been trying to work on it when we can, sneaking practice sessions on our lunch breaks, but truthfully I'd been worried (near dreading) what would happen if we couldn't get it to come together. Thankfully we had probably our most productive dance session ever today. We got the entire song choreographed except for a few minor transitions. We also figured out our costume design and most importantly - got Excited about the dance! So now we have a full dance to practice, and can't wait to meet again to dance together. Hooray!

Gas is getting scary

I know we all agree on the ridiculous nature of gasoline pricing. Ever since Katrina it's been a continual contest to see how much they can gouge us at the pump. But what's happened surrounding Ike is freakin unbelievable. I bought gas last week, figuring I'd better get it before Ike nears the Gulf Coast refineries. That afternoon we went to fill up the truck and gas was 30 cents more per gallon. We saw the line of cars waiting to fill up and went back home. Yesterday it was up to $3.99/gallon. In Salem I saw a place at $4.34 for regular. I drove by Sheetz today (the biggest gas station nearby) and joked that their sign didn't even have prices up because they were changing too fast. No, it's because they were OUT OF GAS. I can't wait to see what price they charge once they get their tanks refilled. Un-effin-believable.

I think I love you

We all have those songs that are strongly associated with some specific time and place. You may not have heard the song for decades, but when you run across it you find you still know all the lyrics and sing along (and possibly dance) exactly the way you did back then. You still remember your favorite lines and feel the expectation when you unconsciously know they're coming. You remember the friends who also liked it, maybe even the clothes you wore at that time. I was watching TV and I heard one of those songs playing in the background on the show. Hearing it I perfectly remember freshman year of college, standing on my desk chair while my lilliputian friend Susan and I sang along full volume with the door open. My boyfriend (now husband) thought we were freakin idiots and hated the song. It's been a source of teasing since then, and I'm probably opening up a door best kept shut by posting this. But I had to share, so here's the youtube song: I think I love you. Now, I never saw the show, and it was Susan's song to start with. Ah, I should just give up, there's no way to justify it.

So did you listen to it? Is it stuck in your head? I can demolish that with another freshman year song! Ska was overly popular that year, particularly thanks to the guys on my husband's hall. I remember the back wall of the closets were the interior wall of the next room, and a couple guys removed theirs, so you could walk through their closet Narnia-style and end up in the next room for the party. This song really pushed people's tolerances for ska music, and after a while was practically forbidden at any gathering. I just listened to it, and all I can say is Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Go ahead and listen to the first chorus (until the end of the first minute). Mephiskapheles Bumblee Tuna. The lyrics are actually from a vintage commercial, which is even weirder than the ska version.

Who needs teflon?

I've made some fancy meals, or desserts that take a lot of manipulation, like baklava. But they don't give the same satisfaction as perfectly preparing a basic down-home recipe, the kind that everyone's grandma or mom makes better than anyone else. Tonight's conquest was sausage gravy cooked in my cast iron skillet. I'm sure you're thinking, what's the big deal? But really, it's one of those dishes that women around here have spent decades preparing, so when you get it right, it's a great thing. And my cast iron pan finally has that fantastic teflon-like coating to it. Check out how clean the pan bottom is where I dragged the spoon through it. (The color in the photo is a bit off because of the light we have over the stove.) A quick wipedown with hot water and it's ready for use again.

Speaking of cast iron, I need to season the bake kettle (dutch oven) I got for camping. It's got the little feet underneath and the raised rim on the lid for coals, and is wide enough to bake a pie in.
It was used, but I removed the years of gunky buildup (lye-based oven cleaner, spray and leave in a trashbag for 2-3 days) and now it's back to bare metal and ready for seasoning. Thankfully I have a half-pint of cooled bacon grease ready for the job. Hmm...I wonder how this is going to smell?

I'm Warped

No! I am not a weaver! I just borrowed a loom to use up some of the 4000 yards of cotton thread I seem to own. Yes, I do own a warping board, but it's normal duty is to hold boxing gloves and training mitts to help them air dry, or for winding huge skeins to dye self-striping yarn. Weavers have serious problems with yarn stashes, and bulky equipment that takes up way too much floor space. I'm technically reducing my yarn stash now, even though every square inch of floor space is currently occupied by this loom in my room. But once I'm done I'll have an extra square foot of shelf space! Here I am winding a warp while listening to Prairie Home Companion on my computer. It's wonderful background for a mundane but visually consuming project like warping.
This warp is for my stash consuming and very green project -- cotton napkins for daily use. If all goes well I might weave some linen cloth from my stash of 65 year old Irish linen yarn for some reenactment use before I give the loom back. Aren't the threads so pretty all neatly arranged like that? I can't wait to get it on the loom and feel the hypnotic rhythm of throwing the shuttle and beating the fabric. But no, I swear I'm not a weaver, and you can't make me be one.

Filler

Literally. I really want to post about hiking the A.T. with my friend and the dogs. Great hike, spectacular views, shocking wildlife encounters ending in fear, pain, and death (don't worry, we're all ok now). But I'm waiting to get the photos we took to use in the post, it just wouldn't be the same without them. So in the meantime I'm going to post something non-fiber related just so you don't think I've given up on my blog, and that I do more with my life than just knit and spin.

I made pickled beets, from beets we grew in the garden. I steamed them to help retain their color, then roughly chopped them, added the pickle (the vinegar solution used for pickling), and stuffed them in jars. Woot! I always hoped we'd grow enough beets to can them. Pickle is a funny word. I used a pickle to pickle some pickles. hahaha.

For those of you following my Facebook life, you know about my hysteria over the "Sense. This picture makes none" image. Every time I look at it I start laughing. Really look at it. Look at what he's doing, where he is, who he is. --- There I go, laughing out loud again.

Gotta Love KnitPicks

Apologies upfront for you non-fiber folks. For all the rest of you...

How many different reasons can you list why KnitPicks is the best yarn supplier in the world? Seriously, think about it for 30 seconds and get back to me...30...29...28...27... Hah! It didn't even take 3o seconds to think of half a dozen reasons, did it? The yarn quality, variety, PRICE, free shipping, dyeable yarns, great needles, free/cheap patterns, always educational podcasts, and stunning customer service. I emailed them because a needle of mine had a tiny chip in the finish that caught the yarn, and hoped I might exchange it. They replied that I should just chuck the needle because a new replacement was on its way. Wow! Didn't even have to give them my address, they just cross-referenced my email addy.

Then I ordered yarn and needles for 2 projects, and when the yarn arrived today I was was upset because they mixed up the yarn color and sent me this hideous skein instead of solid brown:

Brown, lemon-lime green, and fuschia. Gak. Even the name "Meadow Multi" doesn't make me like it any better. I was coming upstairs to email them about it when I really looked at the box, and realized they had included all the skeins I ordered. This one was extra, not listed on the packing list. My husband saw it and said maybe it's not selling even on clearance and they're throwing a skein in with every order as a joke. Maybe.

Anyway, even though it's not a yarn I'll ever use, it's still a nice surprise. One I'm willing to pass along. It's the superwash merino/nylon Essential yarn. Does a certain someone need it for their sock yarn scrap knitting project? Is someone in love with the colors? I apologize for bashing them, they just go far beyond my color comfort zone. Maybe they'd look better knit up in tiny squares or something.

Well, off to cast on for my next project (I haven't had anything to knit all week -- I had to break out the tatting shuttles for a travel project!)