Stating the Obvious

It is HOT. I know a lot of people already know this, but I read some chick's blog from Australia who just gushed about how lovely the weather was being winter and all down under, and then The Boy had to tell me how chilly it was with a sea breeze.... So, I just had to share how HOT it is in The (very much land locked) Homeland right now: 95 degrees F, 47% humidity, and a heat index of 103 degrees F (39 degrees C, if anyone cares to know.) All numbers courtesy of NOAA.

I keep knitting onwards and worshiping the (brand new) central air unit. It might actually look like a dish towel soon, or be large enough to photograph; either way. I have grand ambitions to actually complete one t-shirt refashioning this weekend, but I can really only cross my fingers on that one.

On the bicycle front, a quick search tells me that Murray was bought out in 1986, again in 2000, filled for bankruptcy in 2004, and has been bought out since. The Murray Illusions 10 seems to have been a cheap bicycle that no one really cared about then or now. Which is really too bad. I haven't given up on the old bugger yet, but its not looking good.

In Whence I Attempt Blogging With Dial-Up

Lord, do I hate dial-up. Or more importantly, do I ever hate that dial-up is the ONLY option for the internet out here. Especially when facebook decides to release a new version. Or I want to chat with The Boy. Oy.

Well, I finally got some flippin' amazing watermelon today. Ah, I needed a reminder of why I love Arkansas. It was like a piece of cloud from the pearly gates themselves. Which are apparently blood red. Who knew?

In the crafty/projects I'm working on/stuff to talk about front, my mom bought a bike in the mid to late 1970s from a store that was going out of business. It was $10. Now, its not in hopeless shape after some unknown amount of time behind the barn, rusting away. It needs new tires, bit of wire brush time, probably a new chain, and a different seat (as it has a really uncomfortable one). Other than that, its totally pimp. I'm basically in love.

BUT. I went to the mart of walls looking for tires + tubes and a tire is ~$15 and a tube is ~$4. If you are playing along at home, (15 x 2) + (4 x 2) = $38. A new purple Roadmaster with shock absorber like things on the front, not likely to fail brakes, a good squishy seat, and purple (!!) is ~$68.

I'd really like to make this 1970's heavyweight uber sexy again, but really, I think it is worth more as scrap metal. Really depressing. I'll have to think about it some more. I mean, do I really want to blend in with most other bikes on a tiny campus? Why NOT ride something that's built like it wanted to go to Vietnam? I need to look on the tubes for a better deal on parts, but its looking like the ole monster may finally bite the dust.

Crazy Times, Compys, and Cookies

Its been a bit crazy the last few weeks. Camp is winding down, increasing the total drama in my life, and I've been frantically trying to decide whether I should transfer from my huge state university to a tiny 500 student private school. I've also been to St. Louis, The Homeland, and a 4th of July festival in Corning, Arkansas! (Big shout out!) I have to say, the small town 4th celebration was awesome. I got quite a kick out of the tractor pull and Ms. Independence pageant.

If I do transfer, which I probably will, I'll be getting a laptop from the school. Even though the reviews for the ThinkPad R61 are pretty good, I love my tablet. I don't use the tablet feature much yet, but I have big plans. Besides, I've moved in by now. That being said, what I really want for a secondary computer is an eee pc like this one. One can always dream, I suppose. If anyone has any opinions about these computers, I'd love to hear them.

While in The Homeland, I had made plans to go see Wall-E. It didn't quite happen, so instead, I baked some cookies (and hope to see Wall-E on Sunday). They are some of my all time favorite cookies, so I knew I had to share them here. If you care to know, the recipe is from the July 1992 issue of Progressive Farmer. Pretty sure anyways.

Wedding Cookies
1 cup butter softened
3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup finely chopped pecans OR walnuts
Powdered sugar

Beat butter until fluffy. Gradually add sifted sugar. Add flour; beat well. Stir in vanilla and nuts. Shape into small balls (I use a small ice cream scoop). Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Cool and then roll in remaining sugar. Enjoy!