One of the side effects of living almost an hour away from where all your friends live is the inevitable metamorphosis into a hermit. You start to make excuses to avoid having to drive that far, and after work social activities quickly became unheard of. No one else really wants to drive up that far, and you become reluctant to ask them to make the trek also. This results in pasty white skin and lots of hours clocked online playing games and an expanding ass.
Now that I actually live in the "city" - as if Oceanside was Timbuktu or something - my social calendar is filled to bursting. I don't remember the last weekend where I wasnt running from one thing to another or having people over. I can't complain really - its nice getting out and I really enjoy spending time with the knitters I met through blogging. I don't have a lot of female friends, partially I think because I work in IT, and I'm a hermit at heart. So the windfall of friends I've made from knitting has been really really cool. I lub you guys.
Last weekend was no different, Saturday was filled with stained fingers and the scent of vinegar - Dye Day at Wendy's was a huge success. She hosted nine of us and coordinated the painting and steaming of many skeins of yarn. The foray into acid dying was really fabulous and I can't wait to do it again. I've got my own yellow, blue, and red Jaquard acid dye powder so I see a bit of my own sock yarn coming in the future. After I get myself another table for my craft room and a roaster/steamer dealio... and a mini fridge... and a microwave... I have lots of stuff on my list of things I need to outfit that room. The fridge to help set my massage bars, and the microwave to zap the bases into liquid form to pour into the molds. (No I'm not going to be sneaking food out there). Susan brought her wee adorable puppy Bella and we all fell in love with her.
Hilari, Heidi, and the Boob grabber Wendy... the table of much yarn...
Crissy precision dyeing.. crazy colorways...
It may have been Dye Day but there still was knitting to be done!
Seed swappin' on Wendy's deck...
Sunday was my housewarming which was a pretty informal BBQ deal. Lots of burgers and hotdogs and grilled chicken. I made some kick ass Cajun Potato salad - which was quite good if I do say so myself, and manned the grill. It was kind of interesting how many people commented on the fact that I was doing it. There isn't that much to it - you flip burgers before they burn. Voila - I am the Grill Masta! I've got your weiners RIGHT HERE baby. About 30 people showed up and there was much feasting and drinking - tons of little kids showed up and my dog was in puppy heaven with all these wee people about. Being the bad blogger that I am I didn't even get a single photo of the event. I suck. My friends however do not suck. They know what I'm currently obsessed with and there was much planty gifty things to be had.
Cajun Potato Salad Recipe
- 4 to 5 cups cubed potatoes, cooked to just tender - dont over cook!
- 1/2 cup crumbled well done bacon (optional - can be omitted for vegetarian version)
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 cup chopped onion - I like Vidalia's, red onion is also a nice color contrast
- 5 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon honey mustard
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Crissy gave me an incredible smelling Lemon Verbena tree and I see much tea in my near future. Every day I go out and rub a leaf in between my fingers and I'm considering distilling some oils from the leaves to use in my bath and body stuff. Yumm
Wendy gave me a blueberry bush - and I've even already gotten to taste a fresh blueberry! Can we say muffins? Why.. yes we can.
And last but not least - a bright raspberry colored bouganvilla from <someone who I cant remember now - I suck!> Which is now gracing my balcony.
I have however been knitting - diligently working on Orangina, even though the KAL has ended, and during breaks a pair of Koigu bi-color socks just for me. My first pair and boy do I love these sockalicious socks. Real basic ribbed toe up pattern to showcase the color of the yarn.
What? Doesnt everyone knit socks naked? Heh. Come on back when you can see again.
I won't cast on for anything else until these two projects are done, but I have a few things mulling in my brain for next. I'm thinking the Trellis Lace scarf from IK with the blue laceweight that I dyed at Wendy's.
So much yarn.. so little time.
You blogged! I'm such a slacker! And boy am I looking glamorous in these photos (insert grimacing and rolling of the eyes). And boy do I hate to say it, but unless you stole that from my side yard, that bougainvillea didn't come from me...of course I'm probably not the only Heidi you know either...
Posted by: Heidi | Friday, June 02, 2006 at 10:13 AM
Ooohh...using the Lemon Verbena for your body products is a great idea! It really is a happy smell :) You'll have to let me know how the Trellis scarf goes...I can't deal w/ the knit 7-tog and the needles I'm using :(
Posted by: Cristina (CrissyPo) | Friday, June 02, 2006 at 01:25 PM
Ah, we lub you too...and I can't believe you posted that pic! Holy cow are my tits that little? Maybe I've got manhands, yeah, big hands that make my boobs look small...no, there just wee. Weee Wendy nubbins.
That potato salad sounds rockin'.
Posted by: spaazlicious | Friday, June 02, 2006 at 01:40 PM
Ahhhh, that was me who brought the bouganvilla plant that now graces your balcony. Oh well. I was there for a little while!
We lub you too Nancy. You are totally fun....
Mary-Kay
Posted by: Mary-Kay | Monday, June 05, 2006 at 10:05 AM
I get so envious of people that are near other knitters. I have yet to find any one relatively close to me.
Posted by: bethanie | Friday, June 09, 2006 at 08:48 PM