How to cure a geek hangover

Super Extra Geeky Game Night went off with out a hitch. Bob (the D&D expert that Pete somehow convinced to spend an evening with a bunch of adult novices who very easily might have spent the entire evening mocking the game he loves so much) was a patient and thorough instructor. All in all it was enjoyable, but it's not a game I feel the need to play on a regular basis. Some of the tribe are hooked and I suspect there will be some blogging going on soon about the night from their perspective. I think I may just be slightly too competitive for cooperative gaming.

What do you do after an evening involving a 5 hour role-playing game, lots of snacks and definitely too much wine? If it's spring in New England, you roll out of bed and head to a sugar shack for mapley goodness.

Steve's Sugar Shack in Westhampton was mecca for Pete, Traci, Audrey, Tom, Tina and I on Saturday morning. I get all nostalgic for my Vermont childhood when I go to a place like this. When I was little, we tapped the maple trees in our yard with old fashioned metal taps and buckets like the ones below. After school each day, we would go around and dump all the buckets of sap into a big bin. My father built a wood stove out of an old metal barrel and a stove pipe that he fitted a big deep tray on the top of. We'd spend a whole weekend cooking down the sap on that stove. (I say WE, but mostly my siblings and I played in the mud while Dad kept the fire burning and continually added sap as what was in the tray boiled down.)

These old style metal buckets are just for show around the shack. Most sugaring operations (including Steve's) use hose that connects from tree to tree and empties into one large bin. More efficient, but less picturesque.

All of that steam coming out of the roof comes from this - a great big vat of boiling maple sap:

The roof is wide open to let the steam out.
Steve's is not a fancy place - which made me all the more nostalgic I have to say. They sell the syrup in plain old mason jars.

While waiting for our breakfast to come, Audrey and I did a little meta-photographing.

Pancakes, french toast, bacon and home fries, smothered in maple syrup and washed down with mediocre coffee. Just what the doctor ordered.


The rest of the weekend was spent working on a new project. This is maybe the most complicated knitting I've ever done (geek knitting really). It's entrelac and lace and completely insane. I can't say much about what it will be when it is finished, because the person it is intended for might read this blog (She's going to be related to me in a few months so she really should...). I'm on a deadline with this one and it might kill me before it's finished, but I'm enjoying it so far.

I also remembered to take a photo of these cute little slippers I made in October and wear around the house on weekend mornings. They're the Pleated Ballet Flats from Cocoknits. Really quick knit done with closeout Chunky Cashmerino picked up at Webs last fall. The little pleats are ingenious.


Finally, on Sunday morning there was evidence that spring is on the way. I'm rooting for these little daffodils so much I feel like I'm coaxing them out of the ground.