Some Pretty Pictures

I got a new camera about a month ago. A Canon PowerShot S3 IS, it has a super zoom (12x) and much more manual capability than my PowerShot A530. I haven't had much time to explore it, and the learning curve is steep. Yesterday, I took it out in the yard so I could see how it would do.

I feel like the color is a little warmer, and I really like the depth of field in the top picture.

This is a small piece of a larger picture. The larger picture didn't work at all, but when I used Photoshop to zoom in (which I generally do to check focus issues), I got this piece which I quite like.

I love pokeberry. I picked the bunches with ripe berries and stuck them in the freezer so I can make dye when I have time and acetic acid*. If anyone has idea about where to find this stuff, please let me know.

*Which I still haven't found. My dad tells me acetic acid is used in photo processing as a stop bath. He has some, but it has pH indicator which would be problematic. He used to take and develop black & white photos and tried to teach me once when I was in high school, but I failed the first step -- winding the film onto a spool in complete darkness.

Princess Bride Correction

It was not, in fact, Buttercup's mother who said, "Life is pain. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something." It was Fezzik's mother.

Book MeMe

I was tagged for the first time ever with a meme by Valerie. And seeing as it's about books, how can I resist?

1. Hardcover or paperback, and why?

With some notable exceptions, paperback. I'm trying to collect all of the Jane Austens in hardcover, because they seem more like heirlooms (under the dustcover of the Everyman edition is a lovely green cover, and the pages are a nice cream). All of the Harry Potters are hardback, since I bought them as they were released. And sometimes, I just can't wait for a paperback.

But the cost of hardbacks is senselessly prohibitive. The cost of production isn't much more for a hardback, so the cost difference has to do with publishing houses trying to recoup their costs and reap as much profit as quickly as possible. Understandable, but I'm not a business person, I'm a reader, who likes to buy books (as a librarian, you'd think I would be passionate about using libraries, but no, I'm building my own). Don't even get me started on the cost of CDs.

2. If I were to own a book shop, I would call it…

I have no idea. I would probably be uncreative enough to name it after myself, a relative, or worse yet, one of my cats. I would, however, have shop cat. It seems so necessary.

3. My favorite quote from a book (mention the title) is…

I am so bad at remembering quotes (my pathetic memory is why I can read books over and over and always be surprised by the ending). So a couple I remember: "Life IS pain. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something" (Princess Bride, said by Buttercup's mother in the most excellent book); "I had a farm in Africa" (Out of Africa. It's such a musical opener); and of course "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." (Pride and Prejudice, obviously. It sets the tone so perfectly).

I also went and searched for a quote which gets to what drew me to Grapes of Wrath. I remember being completely taken by Jim Casey, the (ex-)preacher. That character had a huge effect on my budding, teenaged spirituality. This sums it up nicely: "Why do we got to hang it all on God or Jesus? Maybe,' I figgered, 'maybe it's all men an' all women we love: maybe that's the Holy Sperit- the human sperit- the whole shebang. Maybe all men got one big soul ever'body's a part of". Then he went out and lived it and died for it.

4. The author (alive or deceased) I would love to have lunch with would be…

I'm such a geek that I'd probably spend the whole time drooling and saying inanely stupid things, so lunch with someone I admire might not a good idea. The other problem is, what if an author I admire greatly turns out to be an asshole? I might never be able to read his or her books again! However, with sufficient drugs (for myself), I'd say Anna Quindlen would probably be a very interesting conversationalist. Molly Ivins would be a scream. Ooo! Jonathan Kozol, he's so passionate, pissed off and funny.

5. If I was going to a deserted island and could only bring one book, except for the SAS survival guide, it would be…

The collected works of Shakespeare. If people can devote entire careers to Shakespeare, he's probably good for a long stint on a deserted island.

And what is a SAS survival guide? In my wee corner of the world, SAS is a statistics software. I don't see that being very useful on a deserted island.

6. I would love someone to invent a bookish gadget that…

Isn't the book a perfect gadget?

7. The smell of an old book reminds me of…

The University of Michigan Graduate Library. I suppose I don't really need to be reminded, since I go there often enough, but it's more the experience of the place when I was an undergrad. I loved that place. Stuffed full of the most arcane stuff (it seemed to me), it seems so subterranean (it isn't). And it smells like knowledge.

8. If I could be the lead character in a book (mention the title), it would be:

Oh geez. How cliched can I be? Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice. Who else?

9. The most overestimated book of all times is…

John Irving.

10. I hate it when a book…

I hate it when an ending fails to live up to the rest of the book. I can't think of a specific example, but there are usually some convoluted coincidences and a sappy reunion. I also hate dialog which in attempt to be "real", rings false. The Time Traveler's Wife comes to mind. That book has such a great story and structure, but the dialog was tinny and it drove me crazy.

10a. I love it when a book..

So as not to end on a totally negative note. I love it when a book is headed toward a train wreck and the author is brave enough to let it happen. Amsterdam and Bel Canto spring to mind. I also love it when a book is so well written I can forgive any flaw, Rise and Shine sometimes had tinny dialog, it tended to cliche and a sappy ending. I'm still sad that I've finished it.

So. Who to tag? Stef, of course (you can punch me in the eye when you see me next). The gals over at Two Sharp Sticks. And my sister, Sarah. She doesn't have a blog but could do this in the comments or e-mail me and I could post it?

Minor Disaster Weekend

With pictures!

Len and I are going to a baby shower next weekend. I offered to bring the cake(s) because. Well. Because I'm stupid that way. I was, however, smart enough to think I should bake the cakes in advance, in case anything went wrong. And hoo-boy, did it ever!

This is supposed to be the basic yellow cake from The Cake Bible. I've made the the cake before, with not spectacular, but not disastrous results. So what happened? I hear tell there may be some children at the shower and though it would be nice to make a few cupcakes to go along with the big cakes. So I made half again as much batter. I'm sure I did the math right. I'm equally sure I overfilled the pans.

Yum. Raw batter center! The pans overflowed, dripped into the cupcakes and the bottom of the oven. Obviously, my attempt at cupcakes didn't go very well, either.

Len peeled off the tops of the first two. Trust me, it improved their looks. I only have four (vaguely) presentable cakes because I had to dig the two others out of the pan. I also made a chocolate cake, I decided to forgo the cupcake idea and made three layers instead. They turned out so well they were too boring to pose for pictures.

And in keeping with the shower-related disaster theme, the baby sweater took a turn for the worse. First, I have to say I love the pattern (aside from four 3-color rounds per repeat, which is just mean) and I love the colors. Everything was going swimmingly (in the fantasy world where I swim well, that is), then I got to neck shaping. Which involved switching to back and forth. For some reason, I thought I was going to be able to manage neck shaping and continuing to knit in the round. I swear I read in some blog somewhere that this trick exists, and that it involves Dale of Norway. Maybe that was in the same world where I swim well?

In any case, I did decide to go with short rows rather than casting off, since they are prettier. My first mistake was that I misread the instructions. They say to cast off at the beginning of the row 2 times, which I misread as 4 times (it made sense in my head). I caught that mistake in enough time to fudge my way around it. But then I actually looked at the knitting.

So, when you knit in the round, every line in a chart is read from right to left. When you knit back and forth, one row is read right to left, the next, left to right. That is a big distinction. All of the neck stitches had to come out. You know how I said 3-color rounds are mean? They are downright sadistic when purling. I didn't take pictures, I was too depressed. I'm almost done with the neck shaping, I don't know how far I have to go, but I can almost guarantee that it will not be done for the shower.

In other, non-disaster news. I did give up on the bad book. I borrowed two books of my mother, The Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler and Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen. I'm finished with Rise and Shine. While this isn't her best book (I pick One True Thing*), and she certainly wanders a little far into clichés, I find myself missing the book and wishing I had more of it to read. That is a rare enough experience. I've started the Tyler book and am sinking into it.

*I hated the movie. Hated it. I was horrified by how the mother was written, Streep did a fine enough job, but that was not the character Quindlen wrote.

Jewels

I know, I know. It's been more than a week. But I have excuses! I took a four day weekend and went to South Haven to visit my mom (and, as it turned out, my youngest sister, Sarah, who was taking a break from the heat and humidity of Miami to visit hot and humid Michigan). I ended up taking a fifth day off because I didn't sleep Monday night (despite being exhausted and taking a sleeping pill); I often have trouble getting to sleep, but straight up insomnia is rare for me. I think it was a combination of hormones and the weather being unseasonably hot and humid. It has cooled off considerably, so that's one thing back to normal (my hormones never have been normal, so I just have to wait that part out).

I love me some shoes! Left to right, boots that Len got me for Christmas two years ago, a seriously cute pair of heels I bought with a gift certificate his mother gave me for my birthday, and the pair of Merrell's Len bought for my birthday. I find it hilarious that he finds the Merrells sexy and the heels horrifying.

Jewels:

Habenero and Hot Pepper Jellies.

Simon wants you to know that he is cuter than everyone. His ego is a bit over-inflated.

And he is sad to see summer end. I'm not.

40th Birthday

Doyle Memorial* Birthday Cake

*Doyle was a character on Angel. Half human, half demon, when pissed off he'd sprout spikes all over his face. The character was killed off halfway through the first season, the actor died a few years later. The cake looks remarkably like Doyle in full demon mode.

What Would You Do?

My boss (actually, my boss' boss) lent me a book a few weeks ago. She thought I would enjoy it because it's central theme is knitting. She's asked me about it a few times, and the book finally floated to the top of my pile. I'm not going to say what the book is (suffice it to say it is a novel) because it is complete dreck. Stupid story, badly drawn characters, clichéd, and very poorly written. I hate it. And I'm only about 20 pages in.

The issue I am having doesn't have to do with office politics, she's leaving in a few months. I find it kind of sweet that she thought of me when she read the book. I don't mind lying a little, something along the lines of, "not for me, but the knitting was sweet" (the knitting is dumb). My question is, do I have to finish the book? What if she asks me a question? What would you do?

In the meantime, I'm drowning in hot peppers. The cayenne plants gave up completely, so the peppers didn't have enough energy to turn red. I picked them all on Sunday, they will all be strung up and dried. I've probably picked three pounds of habeñeros, I have put them in salsa, dried them, frozen them and will put some into habeñero jelly, but I am running out of ideas. My sister, Krista, will be getting most of them, but I don't think even she will be able to use all of this bounty. I could sell them to the pepper spray industry, I suppose.

A Wee Bit of Knitting

With the garden finally winding down* I'm finally getting to knit a little more in the evening. I even had thought I might thread the warp that's been on my loom since, I don't know, March? I'm not really holding my breath.

I have the bright purple for the DoN baby sweater. I had planned on waiting to post a picture until I'd finished a full repeat, but I'm not going to. Wait, that is.

I did a swatch like the last one, but didn't bother to take a picture since I pretty much knew which way to go. I did ask Len whether he preferred the purple petals, or the blue. I could see the wheels in his mind turning, "do I tell her she's a damn fool for asking ME? or do I tell her I like the purple best?" He liked the purple best. He's nice that way.

Thank you, Valerie, for the very informative article. It seems the best way to set pokeberry dye is using a 56% solution of acetic acid. Which, according to my father, is used as a stop bath when developing pictures. Unfortunately, that bit of information doesn't make the stuff any easier to find. Yes, yes, chemical supply store, I know.

* Sort of. I was horrified to discover more flowers on the purple bean plants. Plants which looked dead before the frost.

Home #8

One of my favorite things about both this part of the country and this time of year is the changing color of soybean fields. Overnight they seem to change from deep green to sunny yellow; eventually they will dry up and become a deep burnt orange.

Early Frost

We had our first frost on Saturday night. For those of you keeping track, and well, I am, that's a few days short of 4 months. We had some damage in the garden, but it was limited to the tops of plants.

The green beans got hit the hardest. I've put up so many pounds of these by now, that if these plants don't produce another bean I won't be too sad.

The cayenne pepper plants got hit hard, too. The peppers seem ok for the most part; I'm hoping they can hold on for awhile because I'd like them to turn red before picking.

The tomatoes are fine, there was a little damage to the plants, but at this point those are pretty superfluous to the fruit's development.

The habeneros went crazy this year, the plants are massive and, thus, protected the fruit. Then again, can anything freeze a habenero?

There was some discussion on a gardening listserv I'm on about what kind of plant/weed this is. It turns out, it is a Pokeweed. Doesn't that name make you kind of happy? Further research reveals that both the berries and roots can be used for dye. The only problem I have with this particular plant is that it is in an inconvenient location, right next to the garden, where it is encroaching on some tomato plant, so it will have to go. If it comes up somewhere else next year, I'll be happy to let it live. If not, I can always make a necklace to remember it by!

Home #7

Alpha Cook

The scene in our kitchen almost got ugly last night. Len really wanted a dish I make, orzo pilaf. He did not mean for me to make it, since I'd been in the kitchen all day canning tomatoes and pickles. I doubted his ability, it isn't that he is a bad cook, but he has his own ideas which are weird and sometimes scary. Also, his friend, Hal (one of the best cooks I know) was over. And. Well, let's just say that Len is usually on the losing side of their Trying to Drink Each Other Under the Table contests.

So I asked him if he was sure he didn't want me to make this thing.
Him: No, no, just tell me what to do.
Me: Chop up an onion. Now garlic. Now you saute the onion until soft, then add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, then you will add the orzo and saute until nicely brown.
Him: So I assume the onion just gets cooked in there somehow?
Me: Are you sure you don't want me to do this?
Him: Well, I guess that would mean Hal and I could check the grill and smoke.

Hello. My name is Lee and I am an alpha cook. I'd like to think I am not as bad as my sister, who's own daughter says, "she wants to do everything herself, then you have to tell her how good it is." I did let him chop the onion, after all. And he did fine.

Judy and Gwen do not question my position in the kitchen. As long as I don't disturb their nap.

I was Wrong

I don't have five gallons of salsa, I've made only the slightly-more-reasonable-sounding four. Still. That's a lot.

I took these pictures on my way out the door this morning. In the top picture are jars and jars of salsa, and a few of plain tomatoes. On the bottom are tomato sauce and jalapenos.

I've been picking tomatoes before they are fully ripe and stashing them on the windows in our sun room. Tomatoes are better when they are fully vine ripened, but we're having some trouble with poorly supported plants as well as tomato hornworms (click on that only if you are prepared to be grossed out). I figure less than fabulous flavor is better than no tomato at all. Plus, they are pretty.

I've had some people landing on the blog using some interesting keyword combinations. If you've landed here looking for a "Queen Anne's Lace Shawl", sorry about that. If you find one, let me know, it sounds like it could be pretty (actually it sort of makes me think about designing one). My personal favorite was someone looking for "Extreme Sadistic Knitting". I don't know what to think about that -- a knitted whip? Or a deadly corset? I'm sure a needle could be used for something. It's a mystery.

Random Thursday

I've been working on something at work which is threatening to eat my brain, so while I have been working on some fun rants (and maybe a rave or two) I just can't summon the brain power to write much. So abbreviated versions will have to do.

1. On my way to work yesterday I was thinking about a "Things I Love" sort of post. I could only think of one item to put on it before my job started swallowing me: Eddie Izzard. I do love him so, in all of his 5'7", stubby, cross-dressing, ambiguous sexuality, massive jawlined glory. Then, lo and behold, The A.V. Club interviewed him a couple of days ago. The interview is fine, but the comments are a total scream. Highly recommended reading. (There is also a very good interview with the always delightful Alan Alda).

2. I made another batch of salsa last night. That brings us to. Five. Gallons. You read that right. Five gallons of salsa. I am so not making anymore!

3. The rabbits ate all of my pickling cucumbers. On the one hand, I'm glad not to have to deal with them, on the other hand those pickles picked up some passionate fans last year. So I went to the Farmer's Market and bought some cucumbers.

I'll pickle them this weekend. You're welcome.

4. I haven't been knitting much since I last posted about it (I guess it wasn't that long ago. While waiting for the bright purple, I've knitted this much:

A top down raglan cardigan using Barbara Walker's system. The yarn is Butterfly Super 10 Mercerized Cotton in a lovely dusty purple. I have apparently entered a purple period.

5. I've been working on a rant about Locavores, but all I can really say is that if I had to live my life without Parmigiano Reggiano, what would be the point?

6. And last, but not least, I heard a terrible rumor the other day, which I can only hope is completely unfounded. It seems that Ann Arbor's venerated Village Corner, employer of misfits, purveyor of fine wine, frozen tv dinners, extension cords and index cards is to be torn down and replaced with a high rise. I'm starting to hate this place.

Now that I'm good and depressed, back to getting my brain sucked out through a straw. Wahoo.

Dad's New Toy

My dad bought a 1963 Morgan a couple of weeks ago. So cute! It was pretty funny watching Len fold his six foot tall, 200 pound body into the little roadster. I am very fond of the belt (it buckles on the other side) which keeps the "bonnet" from blowing open at high speed. I also really like that the frame of the car is made out of wood and that even stubby armed me can put my hand out and touch the ground.

Why Swatch?

I rarely make a gauge swatch for a baby sweater. Babies change so much and so quickly, getting a correct size is a pretty dicey proposition. Especially is the baby in question hasn't been born yet. I figure if I have suitable yarn and needles, and I'm somewhere in the gauge ballpark, the sweater will fit the kid someday (but hopefully not in the dead of summer!)

Some friends of ours are having a baby in December and I want to knit something interesting for them (I'm pretty the baby won't care much). I've been wanting to knit a Dale of Norway sweater, so this seems as good an excuse as any. I settled on the cover sweater in Baby 175, and bought yarn -- light green (9013), lavender (5303) and blue (5726), to be specific. I knew I wanted the green for the background, but wasn't sure otherwise. So, a swatch:

As it turns out, I don't like either of the options. The colors are fine together, but the lavender doesn't pop as much as I'd like. So, I've ordered the bright purple (5135) and will do this again. I think I will use the lavender for the trim -- I want to make the little pants and won't have enough yarn unless I use the lavender.

So there you are. That's why swatch.

And is it just me, or does this strike anyone else as "1974 Vega Tennis Ball Green"? I can't seem to get away from it.

Obnoxious Flower Sweater

I haven't gotten much knitting done in the last few weeks, but I did finish the Obnoxious Flower Sweater.

Sigh. Too big and floppy. And the sleeves are clearly for someone much longer limbed than I.

Nice pajama pants though!

Buttons helped the floppiness a little. But the sleeves? I took drastic measures. I did something that strikes fear into the hearts of even non-knitters.

I took a pair of scissors to them.

It's true. And I didn't think twice about it either. I took out the seam all the way to the armpit, cut the cuff off the first sleeve and started to unravel. Or at least I tried to -- it turns out, if you knit from the top down, unraveling from the bottom doesn't work very well (it works even less well if you are babysitting year old twins. Maybe that's just me.) Since I am not hurting for yarn, I cut the next sleeve much closer to where I wanted to start knitting down. I wanted to reknit most of the sleeves, rather than just chop it off and redo the cuff, because I needed to end up with the same number of stitches as originally planned.

I suppose I should have been more pissed off about having to reknit most of the sleeves, but I was much too tired. I might have been more freaked out about the cutting, but having plenty of yarn cushioned that blow.

Ugh. What an awful picture! But the sleeves are much better.

Len would like you to know that this sweater is, "1974 Chevy Vega Tennis Ball Green. Maybe a little brighter." He thinks someone will know what he is talking about, and despite my appreciation of lovely old cars, I don't. Besides there isn't anything lovely about a 1974 Vega (I believe the color he refers to is the third car).

Inventory

In the last 10 days, I have:

* Cleaned three bathrooms (2 of which had hardly been touched in three, the third had been occupied by a 28 year old slacker with hair halfway down his back. We won't discuss the bathtub drain).

* Cleaned one very large kitchen. While I managed to miss out on cleaning the two refrigerators (some other very lucky person was stuck with that job), I did empty them of rotting food. And scrubbed the very difficult floor, it's very unevenly layed brick tiles. Dumbest floor ever.

* Cleaned our two small pieces of carpet.

* Washed all of our wood floors. Apparently, I was inspired by all of the cleaning product fumes.

* Made and canned 20 pints of salsa, 4 half-pints of tomato sauce and 4 quarts of tomatoes.

I need a day off. Or three.

Diva

I'm not disappearing

I'm taking this week off to help Len with rental change over.

I managed to avoid cleaning any bathrooms last year (although I think kitchens are just as disgusting). This year I've cleaned two, neither of which seem to have been cleaned in three years. Nasty.

Random Mix Wednesday

Back in January, I did a random shuffle thing with my ipod. I don't know how you felt about it, but I enjoyed it, so I think it's time to do it again. I don't think I'll follow the rules as closely, I won't skip embarrassing songs (not that I listen to anything embarrassing!) but I'll probably skip songs I don't know well or that I don't like.

1. Flowers -- Brian Lillie -- Rowboats
He's a local (to Ann Arbor) singer-songwriter. Or he was, I think he still lives here, but he hasn't released an album in about 7 years. His music has meant a lot to me over the years, and this song is a good representation of his stuff: big, boisterous, kinda messy, and cheerfully wise. "You and me/we're flowers baby/let's go dancing in the park...love is so much bigger than needin'/it makes you choose, choose, choose". I don't think this (or any of his CD's) is very available, which is very unfortunate, because they are very worth having.

2. Out of Business -- Duke Levine -- Passion Fish (Soundtrack)
This is a little 30 second filler. When this movie/soundtrack came out I was working at Zingerman's, this CD was on the changer. I think there were only about 5 albums in there, the others seemed to get switched out pretty frequently, but this one stayed in for months. By the time it came out, there were only two people in the place who could stand it, me and one of the owners (don't follow the link if you don't want to see him). I still love the album, and the movie is wonderful (I could go on and on about John Sayles, but I won't).

3. Another Town -- Steve Earle -- Transcendental Blues
It's not like I'm going to put anything on this list I don't love, so why even say how much I adore Steve Earle? This album is from well after he got sober, but before he got politics (he also happened to have just fallen in love, but that's not saying much, since he's been married about 8 times). This particular song is very country-swing, and very fun. Say it, Keith, you know you want to!

4. Coming Back to You -- Trisha Yearwood -- Tower of Song (Tribute to Leonard Cohen)
First of all this version of this song caused me to buy a Trisha Yearwood album, which was a mistake, it wasn't nearly as good as this powerhouse of a song. A few posts back, I referred to a time in my life that was very painful. This song was the soundtrack and it really got to the root of how sad I was (the worst part is that I was always driving when I heard it, it's a wonder I didn't get into an accident). "Maybe I'm still hurting/I can't turn the other cheek/But you know that I still love you/It's just that I can't speak/I looked for you in everyone/and they called me on that too/I lived alone but I was only/Coming back to you". Martin Gore (of Depeche Mode) has another version on the CD which is very different, and just as devastating.

5. Downtown -- Petula Clark
Ok. This was part of some ad campaign, I don't know for what, but I was reminded of how much I like the song. Good mood change from the previous one, don't you think? This, to me, is what makes iTunes such a great thing: I can just download one fun song and not have to pay for other stuff I don't care about. Of course, it used to be that you could buy the 45, and yes, I am old enough to remember those days.

6. Too Many Memories -- Patty Loveless -- Long Stretch of Lonesome
Now she's country! Such a sad, sweet song. If you have any regrets, if your heart has ever been broken, do not, under any circumstances, listen to "When Fallen Angels Cry", "The Trouble With the Truth" and "Long Stretch of Lonesome" all in a row. It will take you a month to recover. Certainly, if you like country, you should own them, just don't over do it.

7. Be Thou My Vision -- Ginny Owens -- Without Condition
This is an ancient hymn, and it's gorgeous and very powerful (no matter who sings it). Personally, I think the song edges out "Amazing Grace", maybe because it isn't such a cliche, it seems like a more naked declaration of faith. Owens' version is all breath, atmosphere and mystery, I just wish she'd done the whole song, rather than just a couple of them.

8. Night Fever -- Bee Gees -- Saturday Night Fever
I suppose I should be embarrassed by this, but I'm not. The Bee Gees made great pop music, and this song is one of the better examples. I've only seen snippets of the movie.

9. Inhabiting the Ball -- Jim Roll -- Inhabiting the Ball
Another local singer-songwriter. This one's much more available, since he had something of a national audience. The schtick of this album is that Roll got authors Denis Johnson and Rick Moody to contribute lyrics for many of the songs, which could have come off gimmicky, but the album is both lyrically and musically strong. This is the first song, it has an arty collage thing happening in the background, and while nothing else on the album sounds like it, it sets up the album nicely.

10. Waltz Across Texas Tonight -- Emmylou Harris -- Wrecking Ball
The strongest voice on this album isn't Emmylou Harris, it's Daniel Lanois (who I'm pretty sure I'd leave Len for, just sayin'), circa "For the Beauty of Wynona" (an album that totally changed my life). Are you getting the feeling I rather talk about Daniel Lanois? Ok, I'll stick to the singer and song at hand. It's a beautiful song, and Emmylou's voice is just lovely. In her earlier career her voice was as clear as a bell, on this album it's taken on a raspy texture that deepens her delivery. I can picture how a video for this might look: black and white, fuzzy-watery kind of filter, couples waltzing at some kind of outdoors evening dance.

It Burns!

This is how I spent my weekend:

Honey Pickled Jalapenos. Or Pickled Honeyed Jalapenos. Or something. I did a few tiny jars of these last years and they are heavenly, especially in grilled cheese sandwiches. These jars represent 3 or 4 pounds of peppers, hours of slicing and every single empty half pint and quarter pint jar I had.

They are also a perfect example of how I am a complete moron (the first such example from this summer involved a very nasty sunburn). Hot peppers = HOT. That heat is due to an insidious oil, which, if you don't wear the recommended protective gear, HURTS. A lot. For hours. Luckily, I wasn't stupid enough to rub my eyes -- I once had a boyfriend who, while canning Hungarian hot peppers rubbed his contact lensed eyes. He managed to get the lenses out, washed them, then put them back in a couple of days later. Idiot.

And I'm drowning in tomatoes. At last count, I'm at 11 or 12 pounds of Sweet 100s. Yikes!

I also have Amish Paste tomatoes making a big showing and the Beefsteak are starting to ripen.

When I start really melting down, remind me to re-read this quote from my grandmother's (unpublished) memoir of homesteading in Northern Idaho ("Dee" is her mother): "From the produce of the garden and the woods, Dee canned seven or eight hundred quarts of fruit and vegetables each year, besides jams, jellies, and pickles. Even venison and elk went into the Mason jars. She preferred the neck of an elk for her incomparable mincemeat." I could argue that I have a full time job and longish commute, but Grandma continues with everything else her mother has to do: cooking, baking, cleaning, educating her two eldest children, and substitute teaching in town. For a variety of reasons, her husband was rarely home, thus maintenance of the household fell to Dee. Times were certainly different, I think it is very useful to remind myself that everything I do, every jar I drop into boiling water, is a choice. Dee did it out of necessity.

Several people (Stef, Valerie, and my sister-in-law) have recommended the Barbara Kingsolver book. I will get to it, I promise, but the metaphorical stack on my night table is threatening to topple over and kill me in the night.

Home #6

I took these yesterday morning. Photoshop is a wonderful thing.

I had to work at getting the colors back into this one (taking a picture into even a hazed over sun will do that). I put a grainy filter on, which tones down the harshness of the light.

This is a small portion of a much bigger picture. I used a Photoshop filter to smooth out the pixeliness, I love that it also enhances the haziness of the morning.

Knitting At Last!

I know, y'all missed it so. I know I do.

I didn't take pictures of the sleeves, but you will just have to trust me when I say they are done. I finished the back and one front a long time ago, before I understood the magic of using short rows to shape shoulders (and collars, for that matter). I think (I hope) this is the last holdover, 'cos those shoulders were a pain to sew together.

The color is fairly accurate. I think the flower turned out reasonably well, especially considering how much I despise knitting intarsia. I can't wait to get this finished, not because knitting been so painful -- I mean, let's face it, if it had been that bad, I'd have totally ditched the project by now -- but I'm really interested to see how it turned out. I draped it over myself last night, it looks like a crazy, flappy vest. Finishing should take care of that.

Edging for the lace handkerchief. I have 12 repeats so far, I need 27 before I can go onto the next step. This is knitted on #0000 needles with cobweb wool. This ball was given to me without a label, but I suspect it's from Lacis (search for "shetland cobweb wool"). I should have used something for size comparison, but I guess you could use the cat hair ({sigh} I hate our couch).

This is the first Interweave Knits I bought, in the Summer of 1998 (I learned to knit a year before). I've wanted to make this ever since. I bought the yarn -- Dale of Norway's long since discontinued Kolibri, in a pretty sage green -- years ago, while visiting my friend Cindy in Portland, Oregon. I totally remember the shop (though not it's name) because they kept their clearance yarn in a bathtub. It seems like I read recently that is was Joan McGowan-Micheal's first Interweave design, but she only claims a design from Winter 1998 on her website (this is definitely her's). Maybe she doesn't want people to remember it because the construction is sadistic -- it's knit in strips and everything is sewn together. I figure I'll finish this in 10 years or so. Hope I don't run out of yarn.

Surfacing..

I'm coming up for air to report that my head did not explode. Saturday night was pretty shaky, I can't say there weren't a few exhausted tears. There was, perhaps, a threat (or three) on the boyfriend's well being. But we made it through and fun was had by most.

The babies turned a year old. They are as pretty as ever and awfully happy (which is a good thing, since they spent the first 6 months of their lives awfully unhappy, in a colicky sort of way).

My parents, grandparents and aunt came to our very clean home for lunch on Sunday. I was much less stressed out by the time they got there, so I was able to relax and enjoy their company. It turns out, my dad has bought a 1963 Morgan and is very excited about it; he and Len bonded over cars.

I'm sad to say, the only way we were able to get the house clean and food made on time was to skip Keith's debut with the honky tonk band. I didn't get to see him in his fetching, yet silly, borrowed boots. Or is it silly, yet fetching? Word is, they didn't get home until 2:00 in the morning. *Cough* Probably for the best that we didn't go.

In knitting news (but no pictures), I've finished the knitting for the Obnoxious Flower Sweater, but haven't started sewing it up yet. I've also started the Lace Handkerchief from Knitting Around the World. Yes, in cobweb with 0000 needles. Clearly, the stress and the heat and humidity have affected me in very bad ways. I'll try for pictures tonight, but I have to get five pounds of beans in the freezer before they go bad.

Overwhelmed

My parents, grandparents and an aunt* are coming to our house on Sunday for lunch. So grown up. So freaked out. I would be less stressed out if the grandparents and aunt had been there before, but they haven't, so I really want to show the house at it's very best. Unfortunately, this has been the summer of no vacuuming.

I should have all day Saturday to prepare. I should have Len to help. However, Len is working on the outside of the house and working six days a week. And Saturday:

These two (Len's nephew, Max and niece, Madelyn) are having their first birthday party in the afternoon. And who could resist those faces?

Spending a couple of hours in Saline wouldn't be so stressful, except our friend, K. is playing in a honky tonk band that night in Ypsilanti. We find the prospect of K (in borrowed boots, no less) playing in honky tonk band pretty irresistible. Plus. Vietnamese food across the street.

All of which means I have to get the house ready during the week, while at the same time dealing with an explosion of garden produce. I've been picking a pound and a half of beans every other day, and that's only because the green beans haven't been coming in as quickly as the purple beans. Yet. And despite how disappointed K and my sister will be, I am not very sorry that the damned rabbits are eating all of the pickling cucumbers.

As though that isn't enough, I've been having a minor emotional meltdown. Nothing serious, someone from my past contacted me and I was unexpectedly reminded of a very painful time in my life. While I'm not entirely surprised, I am a little rattled.

I've been knitting, but not much and not anything interesting enough to take pictures of. So a pretty picture of a poppy will have to do. I put poppy seeds in last fall and early this spring. They started blooming after everyone else's were done and they aren't finished yet -- there were six new blooms this morning.

If you don't hear from me for a few days, it's because my head exploded. Don't worry, though. Len will clean it up.

*These relationships are more complicated, but my family takes hours to explain and I am already overwhelmed.

Len at Work

Hahahaha!! What? You weren't a child of the '80s?

Home Improvements

I've been tinkering a bit with the blog. I took the picture in the banner in January, the light fixtures looked like UFOs against the sunset, which I found particularly amusing since this is my old high school's parking lot. UFO landing. Couldn't happen to a better place. I'm still working on getting the title and description to stand out a little better, but Blogger isn't behaving.

I also added a new blog category, Pursuing Creativity (Insanity) in my (way too long) list of blogs. This is especially in honor of my dear friend Stef, who finally started a blog. While she is certainly a weaver and knitter, no mere Knitting/Weaving category can contain her. I can't decide if I am in awe of her range, jealous, or a bit frightened. I put angry chicken and DPS in that category as well, because I appear to be going a bit insane.

Valerie: my e-mail address is in my profile. If you are coming to Ann Arbor during the week, let me know. I would be happy to pass on some of those lovely ball of red joy. I agree completely, those grape tomatoes have no flavor whatsoever!