Storm Troopers

I never have a camera when I need one.

There I was, leaving my office's parking structure in downtown Atlanta on Friday, and a group of Storm Troopers walk past. A little further down the block was a family consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ron, the twins and Harry Potter himself. As I continued my commute down Peachtree Street, I saw what looked like a wood nymph holding hands with yet another Storm Trooper.

Ah yes, the annual DragonCon is back!

The parade featured Dragons, characters from the Firefly series, Star Wars, etc. Apparently the real Weasley twins were in town last year for the event -- but refused to come back because Atlanta is too hot. I guess when you live in climate like the U.K., parading in full costume thought the Atlanta streets in late August/early September would seem a bit toasty. Of course, Chewbacca here didn't seem to mind.

No, I did not take these pictures, the good folks at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution did. I need a tee-tiny little pocket camera to carry with me for emergencies like this one!

Drenched

Be careful what you wish for.

The Atlanta metropolitan area has been in a drought these last several years and the lakes and waterways surrounding the area have been diminishing and diminishing. As a result, we have instituted strict watering policies, residents have changed their car-washing habits, and shortened our showers, all in hopes of alleviating the water issues here.

Then came Kay.

Lake Lanier, one of the biggest lakes in the area, and a primary source of drinking water here, has risen 2.4 feet, the lake's biggest gain in two years. The lake is still 15 feet below full, but that 22 billion gallons it got last weekend really helps the problem. And with Tropical Storm Gustav on his way, the area is bound to get even more rainfall. The drought is by no means over, but this soaking is really important to the area.


Trouble is, not everyone wants so much water.

Down in southwest Georgia, roads are impassable, homes have been destroyed, and farmland has been seriously damaged -- all because of too much rainfall.

So, while we are celebrating our windfall of rain, our neighbors to the south are surveying their damage.

Geez.

Too Many Men...

The last couple days I have had business meetings that lasted until the evenings and into the dinner hour. It's not often I stay in Downtown Atlanta for dinner during the week, but there I was, walking down Peachtree Street amongst the throngs of visitors and tourists and whatnot. Wednesday evening, I was struck by the sheer volume of people downtown. I really had no idea how active a nightlife Downtown Atlanta enjoys. I thought everyone went to Buckhead or Midtown for their evening fun, but with all the new hotel construction down here and the new Aquarium and World of Coke just a couple blocks from here, it makes sense there are more people around these days.

That was my Wednesday evening observation.

Last night, I suddenly realized that practically everyone around me was male. There were a few females here and there, but really, the place was overrun with men.
So, I asked around and found that the International Woodworking Fair is at the Georgia World Congress, just a couple blocks from my office, and there are approximately 40,000 attendees. Most of those attendees are men, filling all the available hotel rooms in the area.

Holy crap!

I knew what I had to do: Call Alice!

Finally, a Finished Object!

I've been working on this medallion tunic from Spring Vogue Knitting all summer. I even had the crazy notion I'd finish it in time for my trip to Scotland, but seeing as how I just finished it today, two months after my return, I was pretty wrong in my calculations. It's not that this was terribly difficult, it's a relatively straightforward all-over lace pattern, but it was tedious and I just got bored.
In the end, I made only one change to the original pattern, and that was to add the loop and the button at the neckline. The head opening is plenty big (though in this picture, it looks like it might strangle the wearer) and the flaps just didn't fall right.
Anyway, I'm pretty impressed with myself.

Yum! Join a CSA!

My friend, Jennie, is looking for a job to do in retirement. She and her husband live on a few acres of land in Social Circle (also home to the Blue Willow Inn and Nathalie DuPree) and she was musing about getting goats and having a microfarm one day. She had me read an article about a Georgia farmer delivering food to regular customers here in Atlanta. She was intrigued by the idea she and her husband might start such a small farm. I really liked the idea of getting my food direct from the farmer, so I investigated existing CSA farms.

It's not a new concept, I remember hearing about Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) back when we lived in Ann Arbor. But, just never jumped on the idea for my own groceries. Basically, customers "join" a CSA farm, generally offering up a weekly fee (either year round or just during prime growing season months, depending on the farm), and the farm supplies its members with weekly produce. Whatever is fresh that week. Tomatoes and corn in the peak of summer, broccoli and lettuce later on and potatoes in the fall, etc. Whatever is ripe, you get the idea.

There are 1000s of these kinds of farms in the U.S. There is usually a maximum number of customers each farm can service -- and most are at capacity by mid summer.

I did a google search on "CSA farm Georgia" and found many sites, some were listings of the farms, some were the websites for the individual farms. I settled on TaylOrganics, a farm in Ellenwood, Georgia (which also happens to be the subject of the article Jennie had me read). I planned to join up weeks ago, but was required to send a check. I had everything filled out and ready to go, but never actually sent the check.

I told my Monday Night Knitters about it, and Nell mentioned Moore's Farm and Friends. Debbie and I signed on right away (though Debbie thinks I am still with TaylOrganics, but no, that check daggumm check got in my way!). But with Moore's Farms, you can sign up and pay for everything online! Perfect! I pick up my fruits and veggies in Downtown Decatur, just minutes from my house (there are many, many locations around Atlanta for convenient pickups).

Yesterday's bounty has me salivating over what I will prepare for tonight's meal. Len came home last night to a freshly prepared asparagus, mushroom, onion and fontina cheese frittata, prepared with organic farm fresh eggs and onion from the Moore's farm folks. On the side was an amazing heirloom tomato salad with Florida avocado and cucumbers, all from my Moore's farm package. I added only a bit of salt and pepper, no oils or vinegars on those luscious 'maters needed. Yum!

Tonight, I am planning a delicious tomato pie and a cold side salad made with the rest of the asparagus that I didn't prepare last night, with fresh peppers and cucumbers -- and a splash of vinegar. Tomorrow, we'll have some of the wonderful squash from the package, and something made with my Yukon Gold 'taters.

I mention this to folks who invariably ask if I worry I can't use all the veggies I get. No! Len and I are eating better with the CSA than we ever have. It's good food, at the peak of ripeness, grown with no artificial pesticides. It's all organic, whatever that really means (Len has me confused about that one). Not only that, we are helping the environment in many ways, by supporting local farmers. Our food isn't tranported all over the place, just within Moore's delivery area (probably a 100-mile radius of distribution, max), and our food producers don't use the aforementioned pesticides on their crops.

So, if you haven't already, look into supporting a CSA. Google it.

My fingernails are stained

I went on a fiber dying binge last night. After several hours and several pounds of fiber, I came up with this.

August Musings

Geez. I've got the summer lazies. I keep meaning to write, but...

I went to visit my mom last weekend. My big brother, John, was home from Qatar and my big sister, Paula, flew to Altanta and we drove down to Tallahassee together for the family visit.

We had a lot of fun. John's wife, Karen, had a new pool put in while John's been gone, and we thoroughly enjoyed it and their hot tub. Their back yard is a vacation paradise. Karen made vodka and cranberry drinks all around, and she's a pretty heavy pourer -- even Paula joined the fun. I forgot to bring my bathing suit, so I wore an old suit of mom's -- she hasn't been swimming since the early 90s, when she was merely 65 or so, so you can imagine how glamorous I looked. Plus, I really don't like getting sunburnt, so I waited in the shade until the sun subsided a bit. I got a kiss of color, because you just can't help that, but nothing serious.

Paula, whose husband passed away in January, really looked good. The last time I saw her was in April, and she still looked pretty tired and out of sorts. Now, she looks much healthier and happier. She's going to be just fine.

John is doing really well. He looks good, he's having fun, and he and Karen seem happy. What more is there?

Len is pretty happy I don't have another trip scheduled for a good while. This summer, I've been to Scotland and Vegas and Tallahassee, and he's been to Cleveland.

He starts school again very soon. His last year, and I can hardly believe how fast the time has gone. I am really looking forward to the schooling being over. A year from now, he'll have finished school and taken the bar exam. Woohoo! Nothing left but finding out the results.

No Solar Oven

I didn't build a solar oven after all. I may still, but not this weekend.

My hands are stained with dye, but I am really really excited about dying and colors and making exactly the yarn I want to knit. I have so far perfected the dying process and am confident the resulting fiber's color won't run (much -- all hand dyed yarns do this a bit). I reprocessed the first couple batches to better set the dye in those, and look forward to spinning that fiber soon.

Next, I'll start dying yarn!

Fiber Dye Days

I recently jumped into dying fiber for spinning. I really like the idea of taking color images of my memories and putting them to fiber. For example, bright yellow, white and rich greens will always remind me of my trip to Scotland. The Rape fields were everywhere and those colors are so prominent. Or, neon blues and greens and yellows and reds remind me of Vegas. Lobster red and seaweed green and corn yellow are the colors of the Lobster boil Len and I enjoyed in Maine. So, I had the idea I could take these wonderful colors of my memory and put them to wool, making the resulting spun yarn all the more special to me.

So, I bought a bunch of undyed merino top (wool fiber that has been combed and cleaned and prepared for spinning), and several colors of dye. I didn't do anything with the fiber for a while because I've been afraid of felting it in the process of dying. Plus, you really need big cooking pots that are exclusive to dying (never cook in pots you've used to dye stuff in). I went shopping at some thrift stores for some pots and none were appropriate. But, then I had the idea that the Big Lots near my house might have something cheap and appropriate -- and they did! I bought a good sized stock pot for $12.

My first attempt at dying was a marginal success. I used a method where you dip chop sticks into the powdered dye and then into a section of the fiber as it sits in the pot of hot water. Then I dipped another stick into another color and put it into a different section, and so on. Then, I cooked the mess for 20 minutes.

Trouble is, I boiled it, and the slight agitation caused the colors to mix and now I have 4 ounces of beautiful purple merino, instead of the mix of colors I was hoping for. So, tonight I will do the same, but without boiling -- hoping a slight simmer will do the trick.

This weekend, when I have more time in the middle of the day, I plan to do my cooking outside, using a solar oven that I will make out of cardboard and aluminum foil. Might as well get some use out of the heat in Georgia!

Another Holiday

Hurray!
I just returned from Las Vegas and get another day off a few days later to celebrate the birth of the nation. Woohoo!
I had a great time with mom in Vegas. We gambled and saw the sights and stayed up way too late. It was a nice break from reality. The best part was spending time with my 81-year old mom. Who knows how much longer she'll be able to do stuff like this, so I try to get together with her whenever I can (she doesn't read this blog, so I can say that about her).
Len is off on a morning bike ride today and I am planning to clean house today. We may go to a Braves game tonight, so it should be a pretty good holiday.
Both Len and I went to ball games recently (but separately) with our companies. Len saw the Braves lose, but least I got to see the Braves win! I had a great time at the game and hope to go more often!
On the work front, I started commuting to work with a former co-worker who recently bought a house not far from mine and she works just a few blocks away from me. I get to enjoy some company on my 20-minute ride in now AND save gas money. Less wear aand tear on our cars, too, so it's a win-win-win!
Happy Independence Day, everyone!

Gotta did, so I will, too...

Light Wading tagged me for a meme. I've heard of these things, but have never come in actual contact with any. Until now...

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
Living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, working at Automobile Magazine.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today?
1) Send magazines to a contributor
2) Pack for a trip to Vegas, leaving tomorrow
3) Write a script for an announcer in Australia
4) Interview an Asian businessman
5) Plan my knitting project to take with me to Vegas

3. Snacks I enjoy: Peanuts.

4. Places I’ve lived: Indiana, Georgia, Florida, Michigan, Washington

5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire: Create a charitable foundation of which I am the head. The foundation would provide economic incentives to communities I care about to do the things I care about. I would also start a farm for misfit animals, and Jackie Brantley of Greyhounds Galore would run it for me.

At Long Last, I Present the Bathroom

Finally, the bathroom is complete. I painted the room with "Tranquility Blue" paint from a fancy paint manufacturer (the name escapes me). After the color went up, I realized this is nearly exactly the same color as the bathroom at Knitch. It's the highest form a flattery, Knitch Kim.

The new medicine cabinet comes from Rejuvenation. The light fixture came from Lowes, and everthing else (including the tiles) came from Home Depot.

These next two pics show the other side of the room, and how nicely the re-surfaced bathtub looks. Isn't it a nice tub? I am just so pleased that we didn't have to replace it after all!

It's shiny and white and looks brand new. The guy who did the work told Len that he stays in business with his Inman Park clients. No one wants to get rid of their cool old tubs.

I am also very pleased with the subway tiles on the walls, floor and shower wall. The toilet is ultra low-flow. I still need to hem the sheer for the curtain, but that will be done sometime this weekend (or next). We also need to caulk around all the edges before we actually use the shower, but that, too, will be done in the very near future.

Why Is Target Okay but not Wal-Mart?

Really. For a long time I've wondered why I don't ever feel guilty going to Target, but don't like to admit to shopping at Wal-Mart. Truth is, until last week it had been years since I last went to a Wal-Mart (except when visiting my mom and it's one of the only stores in her small town).

A new super Wal-Mart recently opened at the old Avondale Mall location here in Atlanta several months ago after many years of legal wrangling by the locals to stop it. Remember, Wal-Mart almost always wins. In this case, Wal-Mart had to do a lot of special landscaping, etc., and from the looks of things they aren't allowed to have any big signage showing the store is there. Really, I was afraid I'd passed it when I tried to find it last week. I was actually not opposed to this Wal-Mart location. They put it in an area of town that has not seen better days in decades. The store brought a lot of jobs and a lot of traffic to a section of Memorial Drive that really needed the boost. There wasn't a decent grocery store in the area, and Wal-Mart, therefore, provides residents nearby with an alternative to driving miles away.

But, why did I go? Well, I had just read an interesting article about Wal-Mart's attempts to "go green" in their stores. I had a little time and just wanted to see for myself if they incorporated any of the "green" technology into this new store.

They did. For example, there are plenty of skylights in the ceiling, which brings in loads of natural lights. Lights switch on and off depending on need (some sort of fancy sensors in use there) and even the cold case lights switch on and off, sensing when folks walk by. Oh, and the cold case is closed -- saving all that electricity that seeps out of those open cases. Pretty cool stuff. Anyway, on my way out I noticed some bathroom towels in a color I thought might be perfect for the new bath in my house. So I bought two nice. lofty Egyptian cotton towels and matching hand towels and wash rags. They are perfect in the room! Yay! But, I still feel guilty. Why? The country of origin for these towels is listed as "USA and/or imported." WTF does that mean?

Now, about my love affair with Target. I am currently wearing a shirt I bought at Target, made in Nicaragua. In fact, I went to Target yesterday because my hair dryer finally died. I used the old hair dryer for at least 16 years (thank you, Vidal Sassoon)! Hair dryer technology hasn't really changed much in all these years (a lot like a washing machine) so I figured a cheap-o unit from Target would be a fine replacement. $9.99 for a very nice salon-inspired hair dryer, AND it's in a cute bluish-purple color! I also purchased a few new lightweight cotton girlie t-shirts, two pair of flip-flops, a new toilet brush and stand, two boxes of 1-gallon sized zip-top bags, sponges, and a bottle of water for the ride home. Yeah. That's the trouble with Target. You go in for one $10 item and come out having spent $80.

Anyway, the point is, I feel no guilt at having gone to Target. Is it because Target hasn't got the Wal-Mart reputation for ruining small-town America? Is it that Target does have a reputation for sending some of its profits to local charities and community projects? Or, is it that Target is so much more fashionable? Target markets itself as the discount store for young "upwardly mobiles" (a few years ago, I'd have called 'em "yuppies"), and I seem to have bought into their marketing plan. What does that say about me?

Heat Stroke

It's been so hot here in Atlanta this last week that I haven't been interested in doing anything at all. My mom is coming to visit tomorrow and I still have trim to paint in the guest bathroom. But, we finally had a break in the hot weather last night and the city got some cooling rain. So, tonight I will be finishing the bathroom and hanging the towel bars, etc., just in time for the visit from Ma.

She is coming to visit on her way home to Tallahassee from visiting her brother in Indiana. My uncle Monk (who looked like a monkey when he was a baby and never shook the nickname) is a sweet old guy. I hope he decides to spend more time in Florida with Mom. I think she'd love to see him more often. Mom is traveling with my brother Frank's daughter, Emily. She's 8, and my mom decided this was the summer for her first plane trip. As it turns out, it is also her first bus trip as well, since mom needed a way to get to Atlanta from Tallahassee and back, and no one seemed to be able to drive her up and back. Emily LOVES riding the bus. The trip home will take a couple extra hours than flying or driving, but it's a unique and fun experience for Miss Emily. They arrive here tomorrow afternoon and leave again first thing in the morning Saturday. Mom is famous for whirlwind visits. I do wish she'd stay a little longer, though.

Home at last

Treats is back from Scotland. I am tired after the long travel day yesterday, but I am back at the job today. Gotta Knit and her wonderful husband drove me home from the airport last night. Len and the hounds were very happy to see me. Gotta Knit has several more days off this week (BIIAATCH!) and will be able to upload her pics from the green, foggy land before I can, so if you are interested in seeing all the fun stuff we did, check out her blog.
Some quick notes about my trip:
1. I managed to get a sunburn
2. Di Gilpin IS odd, but I loved her
3. Louisa Harding is a lovely woman
4. The Scots don't seem to care if they lose a tooth or two
5. The Scots aren't the most fashionable folk, so I felt right at home while there
6. Folks in the U.S. knit a lot more than folks in Scotland
7. We in the U.S. have a great supply of wonderful, unusual yarn
8. Cobblestones are beautiful, but really hard on your feet

A lot of dead folks in Scotland

Scots are very proud of their history, bloody and violent though it is. William Wallace, for example, was beheaded and cut into bits and pieces were sent to various towns in the country to show what King Edward would do to those who defied him. After Mary, Queen of Scots, married the man thought to have murdered her first husband, she was imprisoned for 21 years before her beheading. In St. Andrews, the bishop there, who was very corrupt and kinda evil, was hung from his own castle, naked, after the people revolted (the bishop pissed them off when he had a "good" man killed in the town square).

The moral: Don't piss off the Scots.

St. Andrews has more to offer than a beautiful golf course. It features a magnificient coast line, the ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral, and lots of interesting history.

Culross is another coastal city in Fife that appears to be in full restoration. It looks like people live in these wonderful homes, and there were children walking about and riding bicycles and old men chatting in the park. Idyllic.

Today is Saturday, and we have a free day (our only day without a set plan). Some folks plan to ride the train to Glasgow, but I plan to hang out in Linlithgow, knitting and drinking coffee and beer. The Linlithgow museum has a special exhibit on Scotty, James Doohan's character on Star Trek. Scotty was born in Linlithgow in 2025, I believe. It should be a great day.

Let's take bets

"I think this Di Gilpin is going to be a weirdo," says my roommate, Linda.

We are going to knit with Ms. Gilpin all day on Sunday, and we need to have an 'inspiration piece' to, well, inspire us. I am actually looking forward to said inspiration.

"Does she not sound weird to you?" Linda asks.

Today is Kathleen's 50th birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KATHLEEN!!!!) and we celebrated with a pizza party at the "Atlanta Girls'" cabin tonight. It included a lot of wine, DrumBray (a very special treat), and pizza.

Today, I climbed 246 steps to the top of the William Wallace monument in Stirling.

Sue, my other roommate says, "It is very interesting what our guide calls a 'gentle incline' and a 'mist.''

It rained pretty hard today. But, we managed to go to Di Gilpin's shop in Perth, and see yet another castle. William Wallace is a national hero to Scotland. You may remember him from the movie, Braveheart. Mel Gibson is about 20 inches shorter than the real William Wallace, though.

Tomorrow, we'll see Fife and the St. Andrew's Cathredral. I hope it stops raining before then...

Scotland, Chapter Two

It is Sunday morning and I am in the cottage alone. My roommates have left for the day's activities, but I am staying behind with Alice and Debbie. The three of us are taking the train to Edinburgh today to watch Alice's friend, John, in his running race. It should be a pleasant day.
We spent yesterday with Ms. Louisa Harding, a lovely woman and very interesting knitwear designer. We were knitting samples of her "Betty Wrap" design, and, inspite of how horrible we thought the wrap was based on pictures from her "Knitting Little Luxuries" book, we really enjoyed making the lace pattern. In the end, we decided the wrap was actually quite nice -- the colors in the sample in the book were terrible.
The yarn, for the most part, was not my style. But her Grace yarn is magnificent. I believe it's a 50/50 silk/merino yarn, and it truly is wonderful yarn. It's on my short list of yarns for a good project.

Scotland, First Installment

Alice, Debbie, Kathleen, Kim, Me and the rest of the Scotland team arrived yesterday -- or thereabouts -- in Linlithgow, a lovely town about twenty miles west of Edinburgh. The above picture is the Bonsyde Hotel, with which our cabins share grounds. It is a lovely place to stay, on a high hill overlooking the small town of Linlithgow.

The bright yellow flower shown here is called a "rape," which is grown for fuel in Scotland, but is better known as Canola Oil in the U.S. Alice talked with a Scot, who told her either 17 or 70 percent of the Scottish population is allergic to the flower. She couldn't decipher which from the conversation. In any case, I was sneezing like a fiend until I took some allergy pills.

We are in "self catering" cottages, so we are shopping in the town market, the Tesco, and this aisle sign was pretty hilarious. Bacon and Toilet Paper. If you have one, chances are you'll need the other, I guess.

The walk to town is about a mile and a half, and we pass along a lot of farms and parks and fields along the way. Cows and sheep are everywhere!



The is the Cross, the Main Square in Linlithgow. Here is where the ancients had their public hangings, festivals, and where they watered their horses. Now, it is a tourist attraction.

Vacation Anticipation

I have spent a lot of my career on airplanes, and I have been lucky enough to get to go places that I might not otherwise have seen. But travel for work is WORK. There are suits to wear, meetings to attend, PowerPoint presentations to view, and lots of time spent in hotel rooms writing up memos and stories and garbage like that. That's why I am so excited about going to Scotland (in THREE days!). It's not WORK. I'm going because I want to go -- what a concept!
Working at Knitch yesterday, a couple customers who know about the trip asked if I was excited. I used my reserved-for-home words and told them I was so excited I might pee. Oops. They got the idea, I'm excited.
Kathleen delivered the trip goodies to Knitch, so I now know all the details of the trip. We fly out from Newark late Wednesday night, allowing for overnight snoozing -- much better than leaving from Detroit for Europe at 5 p.m.! Back in those days, I was never tired enough to get any sleep before arriving in my destination the next morning. Made for a bad first day. But, I am confident I'll sleep on the overnight trip to Edinburgh.
One nice lady, who is a Knitch customer, offered to loan me a book for my flight -- 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith of "Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency" fame. Love him! So, after my shift I went to her home to pick up the tome. Judy has an amazing collection of Folk art -- and I am a big fan, so I spent a hour there getting the grand tour. She has an Elvis room, and Mexico room, a bathroom dedicated to religious art. Oh yes, it was quite the spectacular collection! She and her husband, Bud, were married by probably the most famous Folk artist today, the late great Reverend Howard Finster. (A side note: His granddaughter went to college with Len.) She has a funky garden with man-hole covers (she found them, she says) as stepping stones, and bottle trees and lush greenery. It was a feast for the eyes.