It was market day yesterday, so we went to the market, #2 son and #2 daughter and I. Peaches, nectarines, blueberries, cabbages, bread, croissants, and long beans for us. There were long lines for tomatoes and salad mix, and it was very crowded, so we gave up on those. Our own tomatoes have not ripened yet, so those ripe tomatoes are probably from hot houses anyway. Patience, patience.
The French farmer gave us the secret of the particularly concentrated flavor of his vegetables: limited water. This is also my husband’s secret gardening tip. “Giving lots of water is the safe thing to do,” said the French farmer in a mysterious voice as he vouchsafed this secret to us, “but it weakens the flavor.” We always withhold water for a few days before picking, ourselves, though I have never before thought of it as a daring thing to do. Now you know.
If you got bored with standing in line, you could talk with your friends, fondle the produce, and admire the dogs (actually, we were kind of pointing and laughing at them today, but that is surely a form of admiration). You could also get a massage or have your hands painted with henna, or your portrait done.
We skipped those choices, but did listen to the music a bit. Here are the vibes and guitar on the Northwest corner. These guys were causing a bit of a traffic jam, enough so that people were climbing up onto the walls and cutting through the garden to move past this corner.
And here the solo tuba. He was right by the masseuse. Is it relaxing to hear tuba jazz solos while getting a massage? I do not know.
The tuba is so rarely used in this way. It seems, really, that a tuba would be a monstrously inconvenient instrument for a busker. You feel that you should give him something just for his valor in trying this.
For today’s American Hero, I offer you Alice Waters, patron saint of farmer’s markets and originator of the Edible Schoolyard project, which seeks to bring gardens into schools.
Here you can read what Alice Waters has to say about fast food vs. slow food, and why it matters. It is an interesting and thought-provoking essay. Waters works for sustainable agriculture, making healthy foods available to inner city people through urban farmer’s markets, and education.
Later, #2 daughter and I went to the LYS for a button, and admired Touch Me, a wool and microfiber yarn that knits up into something like velvet, and an all-silk yarn that was quite beautiful but so expensive that we might as well have been in a museum for the likelihood there was of my actually getting to knit any of it. #2 daughter was carrying the purse that her grandmother crocheted for her and the nice lady in the shop showed us the bag she had made as her first crochet project. Our 96 cent purchase didn’t help them pay their light bill that day, but I intend to save up for some of that Touch Me for Christmas presents
We then saw the movie “The Devil Wears Prada,” shared a banana split in a new local ice cream parlor where they give you actual walnut halves instead of mystery chopped nut topping, prowled around in the bookstore for a while, and came home to do some hemming (me) and piano practice (#2 daughter). We transformed our fresh fruits and vegetables into dinner, and had a relaxing evening.
Today we have church, and a housewarming party, and we are to take #1 son out to shop for climbing shoes.
I hope everyone else is having an equally pleasant weekend.
Touch Me worms badly. You might want to read what Sally Melville says about it. I read that in The Knitting Experience. It was either the Knit volume or the Purl volume. I think it was Purl. Check this out in the library if you don’t have bnoth books, although I recommend both of them.
She recommends machine washing (under specific conditions) to help eliminate the worming problem.
I’d advise you to make something small as your first project with this. It not only worms, but it’s expensive.
If you’re willing to put up with worming, check out Lion Brand yarns. They have a chenille yarn very similar to Touch Me at a much lower price. Also check out their Suede yarn.
Thanks for your comment about Lolita. I am definitely going to read Wide Sargasso Sea too. I think there is that “alternative reads” section on the discussion board, I might start a thread about it there. I’ll wait until after I finish Passage to India though.
You may be able to knit perfectly even, same-size stitches with a plied wool or acrylic yarn, but if you attempt to do that with some yarns (especially chenielle), it may look almost OK right after you knit it, but the stitches will become progressively uneven the longer it’s knit and the more it’s handled. Some stitches will tighten up considerably, and some will loosen to the point that they’ll leave long loops hanging, which, because they have some twist due to pulling the yarn off the ball, will twist back on themselves in an attempt to create a balanced ply. This creates little pigtail-like objects all over your finished piece.
That description sounds like an interesting effect, but it always winds up looking like a mistake or just uneven knitting. Get some chenille from Lion Brand and knit a scarf to see what I mean. Their
Thick N Quick chenille doesn’t worm, but all the others do to some degree. Experience worming on a cheap yarn before you lay out a lot of money so that you know what you’re getting into.
And keep in mind that it may not look bad right after knitting, but put it in your pocket for a day or so and experience the full effect of worming!
I’m glad you like the word “worming.” Wait until you experience the effect.
Most mistakes, if repeated strategically, can become a design element, and look great. I have yet to discover a way to make worming look like anything but incompetence.
That explains my delicious tomatoes: neglect.
Your market looks like exquisite fun.
Touch Me is a very nice yarn. Mmm. Spendy, but nice.
Since I’m familiar with Touch Me, I didn’t click your link for it until now. The second part of the description mentions worming, and has a link for how to reduce this tendency.
Your town looks like a nice place to live.