Arkansas Ozarks

Although I spent roughly 5 years, off and on, in grad. school, I didn't make a ton of friends there. I made one or two good friends. One is a handspinner, and she and her husband now live in Dallas. Halfway between Bowling Green, Kentucky and Dallas? There's a wilderness area called the Buffalo National River. It's a long long drive from our house (approximately 10 hours) and it was hard hit by the ice storm we had in January, so many of the hiking trails are not yet passable. No matter.

Turns out that our friends' two kids (nearly 2 and nearly 4) were more than content to hunt for fossils or, as they put it, throw rocks, right by the creek near our vacation rental, a really nice house with a great view. The weather was warm enough for camp fires and walks and dinner outside.

We explored a couple of local towns one day, but mostly, we looked at the view. We threw rocks. We slept and ate well. There was no internet access. It was quiet, aside from neighborhood farm noises. It was a really restful few days that it turns out the professor and I both needed.

In the wildlife department, we didn't see much. I did see a dead armadillo and a live wild turkey along the highway. I also saw one dog that I nearly stopped for, until my professor convinced me that a) we had no room for it, b)we didn't know where the nearest animal shelter was c)it probably lived nearby and d)we already have two dogs..at home. I still struggled with that one...(must save all dogs?)

At the vacation house, we were adopted by 3 local farm cats, 4 neighborly dogs, and we watched a farmer help a newborn calf learn to nurse from its mother. Not wildlife, but definitely animals that helped me think about and celebrate our friend Esther's life. (Thanks very much, by the way, for helping me celebrate her in that last blog post. Your comments were very appreciated.)

Along the way, I knitted one pair of socks for my nephew Lewis. (he's at home, but still not gaining weight as a baby should--not really out of the woods just yet.) I also spun some lovely California Variegated Mutant (CVM) wool on my Little Gem spinning wheel. Mostly, I sat and watched the world go by.

I came home to discover that lots of exciting book stuff has happened! A great book review in a magazine, a fun blog post that I helped write, (It didn't look so nifty when I sent it in!) and even, a Knitty review!(scroll down to the very bottom to see about my book.) I've also had tons of nice notes about the book over the last few days. Thank you! I've really enjoyed every last one.

My conclusion? Maybe I should go watch the cows in the Ozarks more often. Lots of good things happen along the way... both on the internets--and in the real world. Here's to one more calf being born!

cake

Your comments about my first book review buoyed me through a particularly long work week. Thank you for sharing my excitement! A few other things have boosted me a bit while working. (Note to self: When submitting additional photos and an article AND working on my taxes feels relaxing and fun on a Saturday morning, this is a hint that things have gone seriously off-kilter in my work world...!)

On Friday afternoon, I took a break to cook. You may remember the Bartlett pear invasion of October, 2008? Besides the endless jars of pear jams, and chutneys (which I admit, I'm still somewhat enthusiastic about), we also processed roughly 2 lbs of dried pears. I thought this dried fruit would be eaten quickly, as part of daily snacks. I ignored the dried fruit recipes that had accumulated. Now, in my winter effort to clean out freezer space (dried fruit processed without preservatives does best long term in the freezer), I came upon a colossal amount of dried pears.

I took this as an opportunity to make a local speciality, the Kentucky Apple Stack Cake. Frank Browning occasionally reports on NPR. You may have heard him reporting from Paris last, I think. He and his brother also have a family orchard in Eastern Kentucky, and he's written a book or two on the subject. One of those books, An Apple Harvest contains this recipe. It's a bit complicated. You make a dense batter of spice cake which is distributed among 5 pans. (3, in my case, since that's all I had.) Then, while this is baking and cooling, you reconstitute a pound of dried apples (pears, in my case), by cooking in water, rum, or cider. I chose water, it was convenient, and threw in a vanilla bean for added kick. When all is cooled, you construct the cake...cake layer, fruit, cake layer, fruit, cake layer...it's enormous. Right before serving, you put the powdered sugar on top. The cake was a success. This is what's left! (Lunch? cheddar cheese and Pear Stack Cake, coming up!)

Our dinner table was filled with 5 fabulous guests who ate: beef/lamb shwarma spiced meatballs with onions served over brown rice, homemade hummus, avocado salad, tabbouleh, dilly beans, challah...and of course, that cake for dessert. Beverages included water, red wine (Merlot and Shiraz) and decaf coffee to wash down that cake. It was a great distraction from the work week.

I've also been spinning. Infrequently, I admit, because I've been knitting a lot for work and lacking in any big chunks of time. However, this Sunday was the meeting of our local spinners' group. We saw two new groups of folks who were interested in learning more about spinning! Also, as usual, we shared lots about fiber arts and life. Two of our regular members (a couple) are still without electricity from the ice storm...2 weeks ago. Another mother and daughter combo said that the mom was without power for over a week...but her chickens kept laying, her woodstove warmed the house, and she made it through ok. Homesteading and camping skills are a good help in times of stormy weather!

I'm spinning this totally vanilla Romney wool and it's great relaxation...it becomes a lofty two ply, about worsted weight. Although 3 ply, tightly spun yarns (in fingering to dk weight) seem to be all the rage just now, I'm resisting the fad. I'm fully capable of spinning those fine yarns, but I don't actually knit with them that often, aside from socks! I also love turning out these soft skeins that beg to be thrown into the dyepot with their siblings....or just knitted up "natural." Inexact, a little thick and thin, these kinds of homespun make "plain vanilla" yarn enticing for me...anything but boring. (notice the vanilla theme here?)

So, when stress overtakes you, do you make cake? Do you spin? Do you eat dinner with friends? (I'm taking any and all suggestions....) Sleeping? Sleeping is good. I'm trying that, too!

going home

Even though I haven't lived in Virginia (the Washington, D.C. area) in nearly eleven years, it's still an area that I'll always be from. I was born in D.C. and grew up in Virginia...so even though "home" has been in Ithaca or Buffalo, New York, Durham, North Carolina, or now, Kentucky, another home is always waiting for me when I visit my family.

This time, we went out for dimsum at a Chinese restaurant with my parents, sister-in-law, and two nephews. Noodles (the baby, as nicknamed by his older brother) just napped right through it. My three year old nephew Nate was in for a treat, as were the grown ups. It was the Chinese New Year, so we were entertained by drums, gongs, fire crackers and Lions.

Then it was off to see the newly refurbished American History Museum. Since it's part of the Smithsonian, it's free...and it was very very crowded. I caught some photos of the mall while I was there.

Right now, downtown DC is having a revitalization, but many areas of our nation's capitol remain shabby and in need of support. DC is in a strange position; Congress passes its budget, so although DC has only a non-voting representative, the Congress controls spending. In the past, it was always the non-touristy areas, like the school system problems (I taught in inner city DC right after college) or the horrible public housing. Now even the touristy sections need some help!

Just about 11 days before, our national mall was filled to the brim with humanity on Inauguration Day. While I don't know how it looked just before Inauguration, I grew up visiting and playing on this stretch of green. I can say this...things were pretty well cleaned up...no trash remained. However, our national front lawn really looks shabby and literally downtrodden...no wonder after so many millions of Americans visited it. I'm wondering if those politicians who struck the mall refurbishment from the stimulus package have looked out their office windows lately?

While my trip was really scheduled to celebrate my grandmother's 93rd birthday (and we did!), we also got a chance to hold our newest nephew Noodles. He is doing well now that he is home from the hospital, although still has many medical challenges ahead. (he's still eating via nasal gastric tube, for instance.)

It was only after I moved away from the Washington area that I realized how close to the action I was when I lived here. I went to school with kids whose parents were in government,as my dad was, for a while. It was no big deal to see the diplomats' cars pull up to pick up kids from school, or to be held up in traffic for the presidential motorcade. One of my youth group friends happened to be the daughter of a congressman. One of my brothers carpooled to soccer with some kids who then moved to a bigger house. They had to change schools and soccer leagues, too! Their last name? Quayle.

It's interesting to see how all this personal experience fits in the context of our bigger nation...in Kentucky, a week after a bad storm, we're in the national news...but it's a rare occurrence here. (yes, electricity, safe water, and heat are still a desperate problem for many. I am lucky.) I'd forgotten about how Washington, DC sometimes feels like the spotlight's been left on all the time. It's fun to go for a visit, I miss the news, the diversity, the culture... but I don't miss the business issues of the national focus (like a choice to cut funding for our National Mall--and our family planning!) and the glare of the lights.

after the storm

If you've heard about Kentucky in the news lately? It's all true...we've had a bad ice storm. I've been lucky; we've had electricity, phone and internet, unlike most of the state. We (the dogs and I) spent a quiet week working hard inside, warm and comfortable, aside from the crashing sound of breaking tree limbs. (which is very scary to highstrung dogs!)

Unfortunately, the professor had to work, so we walked him to the university. We're lucky to live only a half mile away, so that's why this was possible. It's really an ice rink on some of the sidewalks, though! One student at the university was injured because a tree limb fell on her as she walked underneath it. It was very unsafe for a day or two. Now it's just cold (it hasn't gotten above freezing) and slick, still a dangerous combination, especially if you don't have electricity...and, if you live in a rural area, you then don't have water (electric pumps for the wells) or possibly heat either.

Yesterday I de-iced my car (it took 30 minutes, the driver's side door was ice-glued shut, so I climbed through the passenger door to begin the process!) in preparation for catching a flight to visit my family. I'm off to Virginia for the weekend, assuming all goes well.

On the knitting front, I've been working with some laceweight yarns, doing a little swatchy swatchy knitting...pictured here. So, here's a fanciful question for all you laceweight fans with electricity and internet access:

If you could choose any kind of fiber for your laceweight creations, what do you prefer? Why? Is there something you absolutely avoid? (cotton? Multi-color?) Are there things with too much drape? Too much elasticity? Curious knitting writers wonder about these things!

Tell me what you think in the comments, please-- Your insight is useful.

warm and dry

View from my kitchen window after a power line came down:
(4 fire trucks, 2 fire department vehicles...just wish my 3 year old nephew was here to appreciate it!)
Good thing I'm not driving anywhere today--that was my driveway: The line is fixed very quickly...and the electricity and phones all work. The internet works--sporadically.

Settling in to enjoy a beautiful (and pretty dangerous) ice storm over here.

It's supposed to last through tomorrow mid-day. Stay safe and warm! I'm set--I've got food. I've got work. And, if the modern utilities fail? I've got a fireplace. I've got loads of books. I've got...knitting!