If you've ever wondered how to butcher a hog, can vegetables, or survive without running water (even if you haven't) you owe it to yourself to check out The Foxfire Book series. The book is a compilation of interviews, photos, and how-to articles collected from elderly residents of Appalachian mountain communities. My 73 Y/O Appalachian grandma is on my mind today, and I was looking for my copy. When I first read it, it generated such a neat conversation between us, as I asked Gram about what I read and she told me her own stories. The knowledge of life and living held in her generation is a treasure being lost to us by the day-- Call your grandparents!

The Top 5 Reasons the band Rush never makes top 5 lists


5. Around the time music "Artists" stopped playing instruments, music critics stopped using the dictionary to look up big words.


4. There aren't any hot girls in Rush videos.


3. No Rush song has ever been used to sell beer, cars, or computers.


2. No member of Rush has posed for Playgirl, starred in a movie, or been People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive.


And the number one reason Rush never makes top 5 lists:


1. When "industry polls" are collected for various awards, the only people who fill them out are either in rehab or shopping their demo to get a deal after being dropped. All the working musicians are too busy, well, working, to vote for Rush.

There's School shopping to do. I have something to show you later, but it will have to wait... Char's head is going to explode if we don't leave for the mall in 10 minutes.

Back to school week is seriously cramping our social life. Usually, by Wednesday, at least two dinner-and-a-movie nights are done. Between orientations, councellor meetings, and grumpy end-of-vacation attitudes, I haven't talked to anybody all week. I did see Char for about three minutes, only when she was running back and forth between here and my mom's. (She's trying to squeeze in a lot of time with her little disciple, Brendan, my three-year-old nephew.) So, I'm starting this blog for company between job hunting and knitting.
I've been teaching myself to knit, and haunting knitting blogs when I get frustrated. I did finish a petal dishcloth, my first knitted FO. Since I finished it, I've been working a scarf for Char-- it's four inch wide moss stitch,with six inch stripes in khaki, blue, and charcoal. The design came from a tip on one of the knitting pages about making narrow, looooong scarves for teens. the colors were inspired by a toe-socks + gloves ensemble she already has. I'm letting her think it's for me until its a couple of feet long; if she expresses approval, I'll keep going. after this, I hope to use up some baby yarn from my stash to make her a little sleeveless top.