On Food Preservation, Knitting and Yarn Porn

Let me tell you of the things I did this weekend:

I made dilled cucumber pickles. Stephen has been wanting to make these for a while, so when we were at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday, we picked up some pickling cucumbers (those are the ones that are sort of grey and have little spiny bumps on them.) We brought them home, and brined them overnight in two cups of salt mixed into eight cups of water. We packed them into jars this morning with distilled white vinegar, pickling spices, garlic, dill and habanero peppers.

I met a woman at the Farmer’s Market that not only let me spin a little on her spinning wheel (!) but also offered to teach me to spin “in an afternoon.” I will be calling her very, very soon.

I discovered a new yarn store after eating breakfast Saturday morning at Bittersweet. Bittersweet is a cute little bistro? Café? Money hole? on the South hill. Stephen and I like to order a gourmet crepe (filled with amazing stuff) and drink their exceptional coffee on Saturday mornings. Anyway, we were walking around after breakfast and discovered a new yarn store, A Great Yarn (it’s right next to the Blockbuster on 14th and Grand.) They had yarns that I have only dreamed of finding in my native environment. Rowan. Socks that Rock. Classic Elite. The problem of course is that I can hardly afford these yarns. Nonetheless, I bought five skeins of Rowan Kid Classic, Color 842 (rose), to make the Grecian Sweater in the Fall ’05 IK. I also bought one skein of Socks That Rock in “Sedona.” I’m thinking of using it to make Pomotomas from Knitty.

I finished the Perfect Sock and it is, indeed, Perfect. I also started and am about ¾ of the way through its mate.

I may have also bought a ball of Trekking XXL and a couple of fabric remnants (for lining knit bags) from Sew E-Z Too, my regular yarn store. I bought the Trekking to make socks for my good friend, Mike Ball, who turns 60 next month (he’s older than dried fuck, as I like to say.)

I made beet pickles this morning too. And Oh, did I make them. I chopped them, I cooked them, I sliced their skins off, I simmered them with sugar and vinegar and lemons and spices, and I canned them. They’re going to be wonderful.

I also hung out on my deck that now has a railing! (thanks entirely to Stephen) in my new Adirondack chair! (thanks to me and Stephen) with a glass of beer! (again, credit must go to Stephen.)

Did I mention that I did this all before 1:00 on Sunday (except the beer. We waited until 1:00 to crack the first beer)?