Springtime: Dama Bianca and the fireants

I usually buy the Wednesday paper-that's when they publish the food section. This week was no exception, and a recipe for a salad called Dama Bianca caught my eye. I don't think I could have missed it-it took up half a page. I love Insalata Caprese (tomato and mozzerella), so Dama Bianca sounded just dandy. It was time to try fennel, too. I've never tried it; it's not like it grows all over the place in East Cupcake.

I drove and drove and drove to buy fennel and salmon (smoked, the Alaska way!) for dinner. The salmon was good. The salad was a LOT of fennel. DH made an awful lot of "Well, now we know what that tastes like" noises. Which is husband for "please don't make this again."

We finally got rain this week, and spring is in the air. The fire ants are shaking off their boots and getting ready to celebrate Fiesta with the rest of south Texas. I heard one of my favorite ads today:

There's nothing good about Fire Ants. They don't pollinate your roses They don't make cute little sounds when they rub their legs together. All they do is build a big mound in your yard and bite the hell out of anyone who gets near it. That's it. That's their sole contribution to mankind.

And that's why they have to die. It's that simple. You cannot rehabilitate a fire ant. You have to kill him, his little red friends, and that big fat queen down there making more fire ants. Oh, you could lug a big sack of chemicals and a garden hose around the yard, but that's about as fun as getting bit in the first place. No, what you need is Antstop Orthene Fire Ant Killer from Ortho. You put two teaspoons of Antstop around the mound and you're done. You don't even water it in.

The scout ants track it back into the mound -- and here's the really good part -- everybody dies, even the queen. And while there's joy in all creatures living in harmony, it's nothing compared to wasting fire ants. Now that's a rush. Antstop Orthene Fire Ant Killer from Ortho. Kick Fire Ant butt.



These ads have been playing for about 10 years, oddly enough, I could only find one audio clip, so I'll link it. In case you haven't had the pleasure.

Lateral thinking-

I ordered roses this morning.  Yesterday, I took a tour of the East Cupcake Botanical Gardens, and found them lacking.  We put some things in last fall, and some of them are doing wonderfully ... and some are only sputtering, like our firebush.  I posted an eviction notice for the firebush (it will move to the back yard) and some new roses will move in.

I became rose fluent about 10 years ago, right after a miscarriage.  At first, I planted a rose to remember the baby.  Then I got good at roses.  Hybrid teas, climbers, polyanthas, floribundas.  

I learned my lesson.  Some roses are REALLY finicky.  Some are easy as pie.  

Knock Out is one of those easy as pie roses.  I put some in last year.  One plant grew an enormous cane that towers two feet over everything else.  I arched it and weighted it down with a Coke bottle,  in hopes that it will sprout some lateral growth and quit looking like a bayonet.   These days, EVERYONE carries Knock Out, so much so that it is hard to find other roses.  I surfed over to Chamblee's Roses, which I shop because they are reasonable, they are one of the bigger growers in Texas, and they are by my DMIL's.  The Antique Rose Emporium almost got my business today, but I wanted some quirky things that they just didn't carry.

I ordered another Knock Out, a Mutabilis, a few Belinda's Dream-the basis of this my new rose garden.    Mutabilis is such a big girl, I bought her to anchor one very bare corner of the house.  Belinda's Dream is a beautiful fragrant girly rose-you would never know that she is Earthkind AND a Texas Superstar plant-meaning I don't have to mess with her.   Yay.  I bought three for a little hedge.  

For me, choosing roses is kind of like buying yarn.  You can have all the gorgeous all natural organic spun by fairies and dyed with moonbeams yarn in the universe, and some little slip of polyester novelty will catch your eye.  Because it's pretty.  (Raise your hand, c'mon now, I know you've been there.)  So I bought a Wild Blue Yonder (above) which will pop against my house.   And it's the Air Force Song ... they were pretty much guaranteed a sale.  I also bought Hot Cocoa, because it will SING when I put it next to my plumbago.

After I placed my rose order, I went and did some running around.  I've got furniture coming today, so I took DH's clothes to the cleaners, picked up some Bisquick ... now I can settle in for some knitting.  I stopped by my mailbox and guess what?!?

A present from my cousin!  Red, and flowered (but with cherry blossoms instead of roses, to celebrate Girl's Day).  

My rockin' out lounge jammies.

Nihonjin knitting

Michael Kors says "That crotch is insane!"

I know.  You are so jealous you can hardly contain yourself.  

I can see it in your eyes.  You are dying to ask me for copies.

Knitting patterns, Japan, circa 1968.  

In the dark ages of the 60s, it was important to keep the ladybits warm.  

This started at a very young age, but the scratchy woolens  annoyed Japanese women.

 Note the maternity panties, lower left

There were no corresponding garments for the guys, sorry.  They just froze, I guess.  No wonder they stayed out late drinking.  They were afraid to go home to those cra-jee women.

Everything old is new again

I screwed up my courage and opened some boxes today.  My Dad died two years ago, and the boxes I opened were boxes from his house.  I couldn't open those boxes until I was ready to acknowledge that I have no parents.  I didn't really know what I would find.  

I found my dad's bad assed grey oxfords with leather soles-I kept them because HE kept them. ( You gotta be some kind of BillyBadAss to wear dove grey jazz oxfords that match your suit!  And he kept that for 50 years!)   I found a little wool dress that I must have worn-it's navy blue, and moth eaten.  I think my aunt made it for my cousin-the bodice is lined in liver colored silk, and it has bound buttonholes.  My mom made a lot of clothes for me, but I never EVER saw a bound buttonhole.  That's why I think Aunt Fumiko made it.  I found a lightweight blue silk kimono that must be my brother's.  I'll mail it out because it just became my nephew's.

And I found knitting books.  My mom used to sit on the recliner counting "one, two, three ko ko nuts!"  (I wrote that phonetically).  These aren't THE knitting book, but they are still nice to see.  There are some from the mid 80s....and one treasure from 1968 (foldout open).

This green cabled number is REALLY cute.  Worth making, maybe for DGD?  I swear I have seen that hot pink cardi redone recently.   I know that stitch pattern.

There are more gems in this pattern journal that I will show you later in the week.  You will DIE for the patterns!  Stay tuned!

Cute (1,000,000)-the rest of the story

I am absolutely smitten.

Matchy-matchy

Sky blue.  I noticed that when I cast on my current project.

Her whole life has been an experiment in terror

Remember 'ousia Boudreaux from 'Steel Magnolia's'?  I always LOVED that "experiment in terror" quote-I pictured a proper old woman that would plaster your eyebrows clean up to your hairline.

In the spirit of 'Ouisa, I bought a bunch of Pom Pom Parade.  Why yes, I know exactly what I want to do with it!

Cute (1,000,000)

Marching for Cake-

Somewhere in a photo album, I have a picture of my older brother sitting in front of an Easter cake that looked like this. I was thrilled to learn that the makers of that pan, the Nordic Ware Company, teams ups with charities for fundraisers.

Atascosa County
Relay For Life

Dear Friends and Family,

Xi Omega Iota is raising funds for the Atascosa County Relay for Life, which offers financial support to further cancer research and programs. Funds we raise will be used in Atascosa County.

Here is the fun part! You can help us reach our goal by simply ordering kitchenware from Nordic Ware at www.nordicware.com. We will earn 40% from all purchases made during March 2009. Here’s how it works:


Place your Nordic Ware Special Events Fundraiser order by clicking the Fundraising tab at www.nordicware.com. Then click Browse to see the store. Be sure to use Fundraiser Code: TXN0301 during checkout (step3) before entering your credit card number.
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!

We receive credit for all orders containing the following Fundraising Code: TXN0301
That’s all there is to it!

If you prefer, you can request a product catalog and place your order by phone or mail. Simply use this toll free number: 1-877-466-7342 and be sure to give them the above Fundraiser Code with your order.

Nordic Ware is a family-owned American manufacturer of about 400 quality consumer products, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1946, the company has gained recognition for its innovative stovetop cookware, bakeware, barbecue and microwave products, ranging from everyday essentials to gourmet ware. You may have seen Nordic Ware products in retail stores such as Williams Sonoma; Target; Bed, Bath and Beyond and many more. They are best known for developing the original and well-loved Bundt Pan.

Note: Place your order the first 24 hours of our fundraiser starting date and
receive a small gift with your order! 

Shipping is free on all orders of 50.00 or more!


Thank you so much for helping us reach our goal!

Mail Call!

I've been celebrating Betsuary in fine style.  When I got back from Fat Camp, I was sensorily deprived.  I didn't miss food, I missed flavor.  When I got home, I cozied up with my Penzey's catalog.

I got a big box yesterday.  I ordered a lot of oddball for me things like black cardamon.  I put a pod in my mouth yesterday to satisfy my curiosity.  Hmmm, smokey, wood chippy, barbeque rub---mmmm-I spat it out.  There's something overtly medicinal about it, like a visit to the dentist's office.  I should learn more about that spice.

I bought Penzey's new cookbook.  I adore Penzey's, this cookbook, not so much.  It seems to be a rehash of their magazine, which is enjoyable, but the format is identical to the magazine.  In a magazine, you can easily feature "everyone named Bob, but stack 12 similarly arbitrary subjects in one book, and it's not clearly organized.   The jury is still out, but right now, it feels like more of a coffee table cookbook.

Did you notice the little tiny blue slip of fanmail under the catalog?  Squeee!  It's still a mystery, but a very exciting one!!!

So the economy is flat, you say?

It's not my fault.  I went out and tried to buy things yesterday.  I left the house with a mental list of what I wanted.

Whadda waste of time.  I went to the bigboxbookstore to find this book on Jimmy Carter.  A few weeks ago, I heard an interview from an author that believes that Jimmy Carter jacked up foreign policy so badly that we are still paying.  Hmmm.  I didn't know anything about that...but I am interested in what this guy has to say.  It wasn't available, but they can order.  I don't understand why that's a service.  I can order it myself.

Oh well. 

I went across the parking lot and over to the mega housewares store.  

I want help making sushi.  I have no joint rolling skills, and I make a mess every time I cozy up to nori and rice.  I've tried the bamboo mat.  No dice.  My mom used to do that with a dish towel.  I didn't inherit her dexterity.  My older brother, aka the whitest hapa I know, has both a rice cooker and a sushi maker.  His sushi comes out fine.  He uses this.  

I was on a mission.  

I also wanted a rack so I can line dry some clothes.  It may be green, and all that, or maybe it would just save time-I could do multiple loads back to back, and pop them on the back porch.  God knows it gets hot enough.

The product assortment at the big box home store is kind of comical.  I can get a Ped Egg, a DiscoHitsofthe'90s Cd, and gummi bears, as well as a pink KitchenAid coffee grinder.  (that was tempting)  But I couldn't find anything related to sushi.  "We have plates," the clerk volunteered.  Ummm, no.

And that drying rack?  I wanted something fairly substantial-I do a lot of laundry.  Something like this would have been ok, but all I found was a behemouth, over engineered system that included three laundry bins which required a lot of floor space.  I looked at it, and tried to envision how I would use it.  And couldn't.  Who drives a cart like that from room to room collecting laundry?  When I sort mine, I throw it on the floor.  Hell, it's already dirty.

I went out yesterday with good intentions, and didn't get the things I wanted.  I ordered stuff from Amazon last night, but if you know where I can get a good heavy duty folding laundry rack, let me know!

We rounded Cape Fear

21 Balls of Needful Yarns Arte x 97 yards=2037 yards, started Dec 07, finished today.

Updates

I am still feeling a little bit festive, as you can see!  Marta asked when I will travel to Colorado, and I am looking to see when there are fiber fests (REALLY!) and such.  I have a reunion thing to go to this summer, and it would make sense to go when I can save DD some $$ on daycare.  

Welcome, Jack!

Look at that good looking boy that joined my family on Tuesday.  I can't wait to meet this grandson.  Look at that cutie face!!!

@#%!%^& Cape!

When the main portion is finished, there are live stitches on the left front (on a holder) and the right front, (on a holder). Then you knit the hem. Then, you come back and knit the button band and the buttonhole band. That’s one red flag spot… on the button hole band, you pick up five on the hem, then the 100 stitches from the holder. On the button band, you have 105 on the holder (yes, you are on a holder by row 2. So how dumb is that-why don’t you just work the 100, and pick up the other 5 when you go to add the button band LIKE YOU DO ON THE OTHER SIDE. Jeeez, how stupid is THAT?? (see photo). Let’s mess that up right from the get go for no good reason!!

I see one other structural flaw….this is knit edge to edge. I slipped the first stitch in each row. This created a more stable edge. Then, I picked up and added a ribbed collar. So the heavy cape argues with the stretchy collar, and it will stretch out of shape really quickly.


Oh dammit. How aggravating.

What seems to be working-I did a row of SC, crocheting every other stitch together. Then I came back and did a second row, SCing every stitch together. Now I have to tack it down and sew tape/ribbon over it, give it a bath, and sew on buttons.

Thai work crew

One of the things that we got to eat at fat camp was green coconut milk.  It was delicious.  My brother said that normally, it was "eh", but since we weren't eating,  it tasted a million times better!

We were in a cab leaving when we pulled up to a stop light.  In the bed of a dark green mini pickup next to us, we saw a coconut crew-two men and a monkey!  The cabbie explained that the monkey got to climb up trees and pick coconuts!

Tattle tale!

A few minutes ago, DH yelled "Sug's on your knitting!"  I called back "Well, coax her off!"  He said "No, you gotta come see this."

She looks really snuggly, with good reason.  This is actually a pretty big project-at least 12 balls of yarn are already knit up.  I am nearing the end of the body...just 50 more rows, then it's on to the hem, button bands and collar.  This IS a never-ending gobstopper of a project!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I meant to send fun cards to everyone on Ravelry, but got sidetracked.

This is nice, tho-

Valentine's Day

We had Valentine's Day early in East Cupcake.  DH was proactive-he knew there was a gun show Saturday, and there have been such ammo shortages in the area, he planned to go early.  He also knew that restaurants and florists will be crowded and unpleasant.  So he came home last night and told me we were having Valentine's early.

We went metal detectin'.  I bought a detector a few months ago, but hadn't tried it out.  We hopped into the car, and drove to the coast.  We went to the state beach, paid our admission, then found out that it wasn't legal to scan on state beaches.  Sigh.  So we left and went to a public beach---where I promptly found 1 Skoal can, a nail, and 4 beer cans.

Later, we moved onto a national seashore.  Guess what?  It was clean, so clean that the detector didn't beep.  I wasn't sure what was better-beeping on trash or SILENCE.

As it turns out, it wasn't legal to scan that beach either.  I was careful to look at ALL the signs going into the park.  Nothing.  Wish they would make it clearer and just post it.

Mark knows from experience that park rangers don't have a sense of humor.  He got a traffic ticket from one a few years back.  So we left.

It was weird-it took quite a while to get onto that beach-but just seconds to get back.  I looked at him, thinking did we lose time?  Did  aliens abduct us?  DH looked at me and said "Does your butt hurt?  Mine doesn't, so I don't think we got implants."  We laughed.

Since metal detecting was total bust, I grabbed DH's phone and looked up yarn stores in the area.  There is one, so I looked up the address and away we went.  It was The Knotty Girl in Corpus Christi.  DH was still being a good sport, so I popped in for a few minutes.  (Mind you, I will be attending a gun show Saturday morning.)

The big pink sign on her door announced yarn sales.  I found Adriafil Matisse in a range of pink, denim, sage and tobacco on sale, so I snagged it, a cheapo ONLINE magazine, and the latest Debbie Bliss.  On the way home, I looked at the Debbie.  Meh.  A lot of them look like things I have seen.   

We had a good time on the way home listening to old stuff on Sirius.  Van Halen with David Lee Roth or Sammy?  David Lee Roth

38 Special or Loverboy?  (What a scathing look I got there!)  38 Special.

What's the biggest bullshit lyric of the early 1980s?  Lights, by Journey.  "Whoa ohh, my my mah mah mah mah.  Whoa, oh, ohhha."   

What 4 albums did you NEED to own in the 1970s?  Dark Side of the Moon, Rumors, Tapestry, and something by Led Zepplin.  (Oh, and possibly Deep Purple.)

We had a fun day out.

LSG

Ravelry!

 LSG!

 Conservative!!!!

Just checking to see if you're twittering!!!

heh

Seriously, I spent 20 years in the military so you guys could have freedom of speech.  No one said I had to love what you were saying.

lessee, Portland, Boston, NYC, Worcester, Melbourne, Ontario, Reston, Hotlanta, Muskogee, Ocean Springs, Embarq?? in Flemington, Laurel, Libertyville-no shit, my grandma's house is on Lake Street, STELLA!!! Maple Ridge, etc, etc.

Love ya.