I want to ride it where I like.

The past three weeks have been hectic, for a few reasons.

First, the Tour de Fleece, the yearly companion event to the Tour de France, where spinners around the world spin their wheels and spindles making yarn every day of the bike race that inspired it. I was really productive this year.



The colors are more accurate in this photo, but it's blurry.


Chain-plied sock yarn, 433 yards of merino wool




650 yards of two ply laceweight corriedale.


910+ yards of fingering weight falkland


and 1100+ yards of laceweight wensleydale.


I really pushed myself hard this year and actually had another 4 oz of the corriedale to spin that I did not finish.

So knitting has been generally on hold but I did finish this.

and started another one of the same. I'm also working on socks of course, but they're unphotographed as yet.

The other thing is that my mom took my kids on vacation to europe for two weeks, and we're dogsitting.

My sister Mini, a 13 year old, blind, insulin-dependent diabetic and

my sister Polly, an emotionally needy powderpuff chinese crested who stays right by my side all the time, to the point I've been calling her "polly pocket".

Dylan, our Wheelydog, is getting really bad. He's losing weight, often doesn't want to go outside even in the cart, and is spending most of his time sleeping and being short-tempered with the other dogs, even Lily. We have an appointment for their regular annual vet visit next weekend and if the vet says he's suffering, we will do what we need to do. I don't think he's very happy. Poor thing.

Lily's fine. She's getting pudgy from lack of exercise, something to which I can certainly relate. I would like to find something I can do that I will continue doing that I won't come to resent, and I prefer something weight-training related. Any other exercise, besides swimming, always feels like punishment to me. I have issues. We've had a big heat wave lately and it's making me so tired and lethargic, and having four dogs in the bedroom at night along with us is not helping me get any rest. Ugh.

I also have an appointment next Monday to see why I can't hear out of one ear. I thought it was the usual allergy/congestion related stuff but it hasn't gone away, and the doctor wants me to see a specialist.

So that's about all I have for now. Lots on my mind, but limited time and energy. And this house is a mess, yarn and spinning fiber everywhere!

What's so funny 'bout peace, love, and little donuts?

My bus goes by this restaurant every morning, and recently, they started carrying "Peace, Love and Little Donuts", by a local company, operating out of Pittsburgh's Strip District. So one morning, I stopped in and got some.

They were good, not great, but decent. I decided to google the company and see if they had a facebook page or any more information on who they are. Here's the logo, by the way.


(logo from http://www.peaceloveandlittledonuts.com/)

They use a whole "tie dye" theme thing along with the psychedelic-type font and the color scheme reminiscent of hippies, Heads Together, and Woodstock.

Note the tag-"Feed Your Inner Hippie". What sort of person do you think would run a business like that? Where, for instance, do you think he'd fall on the "tolerance for differing lifestyles" spectrum?

You'd be wrong.

The first article I found was this.
Post Gazette-Owner's Opinions can affect the bottom line

The owner is an open homophobe, right-wing zealot, religious fundamentalist, and zero tolerance (except for taking your money of course) of politically liberal and personally counterculture.

Which is fine, actually. Because he has a right to feel how he feels. But to appropriate the symbolism of a movement that espoused tolerance, love, acceptance, progressive politics, and peace for your own financial gain? Tastes pretty bad to me. I won't go there again. In fact, I literally felt sick to my stomach, having eaten some of the donuts and given some of my liberal, aging hippie, birkenstock-wearing, gay-loving, leftist dollars to this deceitful, angry man.

There's direct quotes from the owner's blog (since taken down) here.

Homophobic Donuts and Free Speech

My money does not need to go to a person who diametrically opposes everything I find decent and just. I just feel bad for the people who have to work for him. I'll cheerfully continue getting my baked goods fix at Dozen, just down the street, a lovely little locally owned bakery, delicious cupcakes and more, incidentally owned by a gay couple. It may cost a little more, but it doesn't leave the bitter taste of hatred in your mouth.

Quick update

Still having trouble keeping up with the blog for some reason. I think there are many reasons, or excuses if you want to call them that.

I'm having trouble with my eyes. My glasses are overdue but my insurance only pays for a pair every 2 years (or pays their paltry contribution to what a pair costs) and my two years isn't up until November. Being on the computer gives me eye strain and I'm really trying to avoid that. Plus, working all day on the computer, doing pretty intensive data entry, makes it less than appealing to spend more time on the computer at home. Plus my computer is getting more erratic by the day, to the point that I actually bought backup space online so I didn't lose all my photos in the inevitable meltdown when it happens.

So. I've been knitting...



spinning...


knitting some more...


seeing fireworks...


tasting wine...

(at Kavic Winery, highly recommended. Good stuff)

and cooking, and sleeping, and working, and surviving. And taking photos.

















Hopefully, more soon, but I can't promise anything.

Tangy Bulgur Salad

I made up this recipe on the fly. I wanted to try bulgur wheat and didn't want a hot dish in our 85 degree summer, plus the thought of crunchy bok choy and lemon juice and olive oil and fresh tomatoes in combination was pretty appealing.

1 cup uncooked bulgur wheat
1-2 cups chopped bok choy
1 medium shallot, sliced thin.
1/2 cup crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 large tomato or equivalent, diced
1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed (optional, but gives the dish a nice protein kick for vegetarians.)
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Balsamic vinegar (white)
Sea or Kosher Salt
Black Pepper

Cook bulgur wheat by bringing to a boil in two cups of water then simmering covered until done. Set aside to cool.
In a small saute' pan, coat bottom with olive oil, add bok choy, mushrooms, and shallot. Cook until bok choy is wilted but still crunchy.

At this point you can set everything in the refrigerator to cool off and walk away for an hour or so. I made the mistake of combining everything while it was still warm and it got a little mushy, as you can see in the photo below. Still tasted good, but not so aesthetically pleasing.

Once ingredients have cooled, mix everything together, adding more olive oil as needed. Add tomatoes and kidney beans, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and white balsamic to taste. Toss everything together and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Tasty, hearty, healthy, and easy to make ahead. Just not so photogenic.

I want to tell you just how much I love you

Finished my Honeybee Stole and a quick Annis, both from handspun.





It ended up being about seven feet long. I haven't done an official measurement yet but it's a big MFer.







There are a ton more pictures of both shawls on flickr-see the link on the sidebar.

My next project is another Annis out of the alpaca I spun for last year's Tour de Fleece. And I have a spinning project in the works, with this.



I split it evenly down the length (no idea how I did that, total luck as the weight is only off by one gram) and I'm going to spin as fine as possible then chain ply it and knit socks out of it, one going from yellow to purple and the other from purple to yellow. I love that combination.

In other news, Dylan got his wheelchair and is learning how to use it. We're also learning how to get him in it so it's right. It's a learning curve for all of us.

Here's a video of Dylan before the cart. It's kinda sad. Hence the cheerful music.


And here he is in the wheelchair, doing much better.



He was going to try to roll on the ground and we were all "NOOOOO".



Sorry for the jerky video, it was on my cell phone while I was walking. He really likes the cart.

Bob and I went to Fallingwater on our anniversary weekend, which was last weekend. Loved it. Haven't been there since I was a kid and it's awesome.





Of course while we were down there, we had to stop by Ohiopyle and see Cucumber Falls. It made me depressed that I couldn't go down the hill and walk around closer to the water, though.


By the time we got there I was done in, physically. It was a good day, though, topped off by a great dinner at La Cucina Dolce, a place I've been wanting to try.

Bob had trout with mussels and clams


and I had gnocchi.


The food overall was delicious. The beans and greens appetizer was outstanding. The crabcake appetizer was good, but pretty small for the price. The gnocchi dish I had would have been improved by not having some very assertive green olives battling the pancetta in the sauce for taste domination-I'd recommend they use a milder olive or a milder meat but it was really, really good. The service was good and we got a reservation a half hour ahead of our arrival so that was nice.

That's about it. It's hot and steamy in Pittsburgh this week and I'm broke, so no arts festival yet again this year. Maybe next time.

Beets with wilted greens

I love making this beet dish and everyone who has tried it loves it too!

When you select your fresh beets, make sure you get ones with good greens attached. Make sure the greens are free of holes and in good condition.

Beets with Wilted Greens

1 bunch fresh beets (Golden beets make this a particularly attractive dish)
One shallot, sliced thin.
Balsamic vinegar
Olive Oil
Fresh Ginger (optional)
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
Skillet or Saute Pan with a lid that fits.

Remove greens from beets and set aside in water. Scrub beets well and cube. Add enough olive oil to a skillet to cover the bottom and add beets and shallot. Toss and saute', adding salt, ginger, and pepper to taste. Cover until done. Add balsamic vinegar to taste when beets are almost completely cooked. (If you're using golden beets, I recommend white balsamic but it probably doesn't make that much difference.)


Making sure your greens are very clean, remove stems and cut leaves into bite-sized pieces. Rinse and drain well. Add to pan with beets and cover. Leave on medium heat until greens wilt. Toss once or twice then remove from heat and serve.

Shown here using Golden Beets

Coconut-Ginger Cream Pie

Last weekend, friends invited us to a thai-inspired cookout for Memorial Day (US). I wanted to bring a dessert with a twist, so I made this traditional pie with an updated flavor combination. It was delicious!



Coconut Ginger Cream Pie (with optional pineapple)

Crust:
Approx 7 oz Trader Joe’s Triple Ginger gingersnaps
1 stick butter, softened

Process gingersnaps in food processor until all crumbs. Add butter and process until mixed. Remove and press into 9 inch pie plate, being sure to go all the way up the side. Bake in a 350F oven for ten minutes, remove from oven and cool.

Filling:
3 large eggs
3 cups half and half
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup coconut
2 tsp fresh grated ginger
2 Tbsp candied ginger, diced
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine half and half, eggs, flour, and sugar in a medium saucepan and on medium heat, bring to a low boil, stirring almost continuously with a wire whisk. As it starts to thicken, stir more.
Remove from heat, add coconut, ginger, and vanilla and stir. Pour into pre-baked crust. Chill.

If desired, once pie is chilled, layer chopped fresh or drained canned crushed pineapple on top then top with whipped cream. Garnish with toasted coconut and mint leaves if desired. Chill and eat.

I stablized the whipped cream using this method-
2 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1 packet Knox unflavored gelatine
1/4 cup water

Sprinkle gelatine on water and bring to a boil in the microwave. Mix well and put in the refrigerator to cool.

Beat whipping cream with sugar until it starts to stiffen. Add COLD gelatin (Make sure it's cold but still liquid) and beat until stiff peaks form.

Must See

Janelle Monae is gaining popularity, and if this live performance on Letterman is any indication, she's going to be a huge, huge superstar.

I'm listening to her "Archandroid" CD now and it is blowing me away. And I don't say that lightly. Between her and Lady Gaga, I think there is hope for women in popular music yet.



Beyond fierce. And not a bit of lip synch.

It reminds me of the places we used to go

Just some photos. We've got a late spring flower explosion going on.

Columbines-magical.







Giant freaking peonies.



Sage


Yarrow. Actual colors, no manipulation.


Roses and yarrow.

(and weeds, ok?)

Iris


After having punked out for two or three years, it looks like our irises are coming back. I don't understand it, but I'll take it.

Wegelia. I cut this bush down practically to the ground about every other year and it comes right back.

It's already to a size that bears watching.

That's about it for now. I'm back into the last section of the honeybee stole and hoping this is for real this time. This time next week, we might have finished object pictures.

Hope to have a more substantive post soon.

Love!

I LOVE this awesome commercial. Love seeing a fat person who is not a punch line. Go, Safe Auto!

Jive Turkey

We've been invaded this week.





This fine fellow was right up in the window all weekend ordering me to put out more birdseed.



Handsome bird, total bad-ass.



Yesterday, I was spending some time laying in the hammock reading a book, and I heard a weird "CHUFF! CHUFF!" noise. I turned my head and there were three big tom turkeys not ten feet from the hammock, at the edge of the woods, taking turns fanning out their tails and doing the CHUFF thing sinking their heads into big ol' puffed out chest feathers. They were strutting around while one hen pecked around in the grass ignoring them. I never wished for a video camera so much. It was hilarious.



I do a lot of thinking about gender and gender traits as performance and choice and taught behavior rather than inbred behavior. I think in the world we live in now, it's way more optional to perform the gender you were born with. One reason I'm so fascinated with drag queens and gay culture. I think it goes back to feeling a need to be a total bad-ass myself, much like that turkey, in order to survive. Being a weightlifter and someone who is mechanically inclined and very physically strong and able to fix stuff yet being a mostly heterosexual woman and certainly cisgender, I think it very interesting how people choose to use and subvert gender roles.

I would be happy to live in a world where the role of gender was up to the person and not up to a general societal judgment. Where certain qualities were not assigned to gender but were taken on by individuals as things that are right for them, like fashion sense or mechanical aptitude. Where the designation of masculinity and femininity did not trail along so much baggage with them, where they were more choice than obligation.

There was a good mini-doc on Logo this week called "the butch factor". A host of qualities given to be indicative of what a "real man" is or does included things like being honorable, or being reliable, or being honest. Why are these given as masculine traits? Because all the women I knew growing up were also honorable, reliable, and honest. As well as tough. And this is where I learned it. And this is why I'm sometimes perceived as mannish or intimidating. If those things, which are good human traits, are masculine, then does that leave dishonor, duplicity, and flakiness as feminine traits? Or am I being too dualistic? Because that's what we've got here, a world (in the west, at least) steeped in dualism and black-and-white thinking, in everything from politics to gender roles to food choices to art and everything in between.

Am I making any sense? Black and white dualism helps nobody and seems to hurt a lot of people.

I'm moving right along on the honeybee stole, and I'm also making socks from a skein of the legendary Wollmeise yarn. And I've got two spindle spinning projects and a wheel spinning project going so I'm busy, craft wise. I'm keeping up with the 365 project too. I've got too many to post individually, so here's the slideshow to date.



And a couple of highlights.