Thursday, July 22, 2010

On sock puppets and other stuff.....

I think that Dennis Miller is probably the funniest guy on the planet. He rarely expresses malice, but is real high on the snark-o-meter...a man after my own heart. He called Biden a "sock-puppet in a power tie". Seriously....I couldn't stop laughing. Sorry, but I'm still chuckling about it. (He does kinda resemble a sock puppet.) I suspect that based on what I know about Biden, he seems pretty secure ego-wise, he'd probably think it was pretty funny too.

I'm having monkey mind about starting another shawlette/scarf, because you know, ninety degree weather is the perfect weather to knit something one wears around the neck. I also think it means I have too many choices, and too much lovely yarn at my disposal. Yikes!! If I get off my lazy backside this weekend maybe I'll photograph all the choices, and see if that helps. Maybe ya'll can vote to help me.

At a farmer's market on Tuesday evening, I stopped at a booth that was selling yarn, Tamarack Farm. As I was longingly fingering a beautiful 3-ply, fingering/sport weight natural, charcoal colored skein, the proprietor commented "You can always spot a serious knitter. They have no problem feeling up the wool in this weather." It was lovely, and not unreasonably priced. About $8.50 for 188 yards. I'm thinking it might make really warm socks for my DH, who has a, seemingly, deadly fear of cold feet. (But he hates hot weather too. Don't know what to make of this.) I'm just not sure how much yarn I should get. Maybe I should consult one of my sock knitting references...duh. I'm thinking I should get three skeins. I'm guessing a #2, or #3, needle and 400+ yards for a decent pair of male socks, average foot length.

Sometimes I think that I have to illustrate the ....um....odd environment we have here. This is what one sees at the Tuesday night farmer's market in Boalsburg.

Notice anything unusual?

Yes, Virginia, that's a tank. Because I am not a WW scholar, I can't tell you if it is WWI or WWII, however, it is a real, decommissioned tank. (And before any commenter mentions it, yes there is a plaque, but I didn't want to walk back because the weather was threatening.) As I took this shot, I had my back to two 50 foot long anti-aircraft guns from the Battleship Pennsylvania.

We here in Central PA are not expecting an invasion, at least not a hostile invasion. (Our invaders wear sneakers and flip-flops and carry smart phones.) This particular farmer's market is held on the grounds of the Pennsylvania Military Museum. As is usually the case with residents, I've lived about five miles from this museum, share my life with a vet, and have never visited the place. I'm a bad girl. Yes, indeed.

As I was browsing the other wares at the market I happened upon a farmer selling beets. Now I've not been a total beet convert (my experience limited to the kind pickled in jars) but I've been seeing recipes that included sauteed greens (with bacon, can anything with bacon be bad?) so I decided to purchase a bunch. The fellow had three kinds - red, pink, and white (they all had specific varietal names, but....whatever) and I was vacillating undecided. I finally asked for the "pink" and, I think, because he was overwhelmed with beets, he asked if I'd like to try A white beet. Sure I said....he hesitated for a second, and said, here...take a whole bunch. I offered to pay him for the white bunch, but he refused. Nice man..."beeten" down I guess. (HA HA). The story doesn't end there however, my life is never without a complication, I now have two huge bunches of beets sticking up in the back of the Forester. I go to pick up my hubby from his office. He gets in and I say..."hey, guess what? I bought us some fresh beets at the farmers market." His response...."I hate beets". Sigh....I am now beginning to be "beeten" down myself. But the white beets are delicious - very sweet. And I was right about the bacon......

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Share the recipe, I love beets!!!

kemtee said...

I've always thought Dennis Miller was rather hawt, myself. But snark turns me on, so…

400+ yards does a decent length sock for Hizzoner (who has small feet for a man his height but certainly not small by normal standards – 12).

And at least you have the museum as an excuse. There's a house in Driver that has a cannon parked in the front yard. A real, on the caisson, cannon. I'm just glad I don't live in the house it's pointed toward.

(Word Verification: stsmade. As in, how many sts made today?)