Tamale Time

Thanks to Helen's willingness to teach some tamale newbies, the WAACO'S got together for a tamale dinner last night. Shana has been eager to attend a tamale party for years, so we were happy to get the invitation. Tamales are one of those things that it helps a lot to have a live person teach you, and Helen was willing. This was actually her first try as a teacher instead of a student. Judging by the quality of the finished product I would say it was a rousing success. She even had some shortcuts to teach that took tamales out of the "once a year slavery" category and into the class of meals you can make when you just have an afternoon to spare.

As always, with the WAACO's, a good time was had by all. There were several children in attendance, and with the kids' activities, ongoing tamale production, and general discussions all going on at the same time it was a deliciously homey evening. Ruby got put to work with a computer installation, Dianne and Shana helped make tamales, Nez pursued flies to the point of obsession, and I lounged around knitting and laughing.

Earlier in the week Jennifer was in town, so I had all the kids for dinner Monday night. In the typical "loaves and fishes" manner of my casual dinners, I planned for four and ended up feeding eight. Although there is not much that can make a three pound pot roast grow, a couple of extra potatoes can work wonders! It turned out to be a really nice evening and a good visit for the kids. Of course Miss Vivian was the star, even after she fell asleep. She's very agreeable about being passed from hand to hand, and it's a good thing, because everyone had a turn.

I've still got three pairs of socks socks on the needles. While I am making progress on them it isn't much to look at. I'm on the second heel flap for the plain striped socks, but the other two are still on the leg of the first sock. The slow progress is hardly surprising because most of my knitting is happening during my lunch hour at work; when I am at home I am trying to make progress on the moving front. While she was here Jennifer gave me an idea of what she'd like in the way of baby knitting. It seems I'd better get with the program!

We have a closing date, and movers are scheduled. It feels good to have a real date to plan around. Sometimes it seems that the date is far away, but given the amount of junk we have accumulated it's going to take a lot of effort to get us properly downsized. Our move is a little over a month away, which should give us plenty of time, but a local bike event, Hotter N Hell, and Shana's birthday trip to Florida all happen in the middle. I won't be going to Florida this time, so I can close the kitchen and finish my personal packing during that time, but Shana will have to have her things pretty near done before she leaves. We are doing a little every day, but I'm sure we'll need to get into "acceleration mode" soon. I was thinking we were pretty relaxed about it, but Roxy has taken to sleeping under the bed and hiding behind chairs during the day. Obviously we are getting a little keyed up! The massive garage sale is in two weeks. After that we will know where we stand and the sprint will begin.